


Go Jump in a Lake

by seraphic_gate



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Battle Couple, Drug Use, Erin/Orion - Freeform, Fight Scene, Fluff, Hoshimeguri, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, throne of the stellar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-09-06 12:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16832842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphic_gate/pseuds/seraphic_gate
Summary: While visiting Sirena, Orion notices the sun playing on Erin’s features—only in time for a group of assassins to remind him that he really ought to learn how to swim.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know if I will have more to add to this later but I love me some Erin/Orion so wrote some fluff (after the violence).

# Orion/Erin  
Sirena perplexed and annoyed Orion, and yet he couldn’t deny that it was a beautiful place where the people seemed content. 

The abundance of water was prevalent in every aspect of the capital city’s design. Built sitting atop a vast lake, there was nowhere one couldn’t see the water on the horizon.

Annoying and beautiful could describe a lot of things in Orion’s life, and people too. Or maybe he was dumb and easily charmed. 

“The people here smile a lot,” Erin said, walking beside him. 

Erin being an excellent example. 

King Sardinia had offered them clothing more suited to a walk through the city, since two men clad in Lama’s military colors would no doubt attract unwanted attention.

It seemed Sardinia had some taste, too. The clothes he’d gifted to Orion were simple and functional, made of high quality cloth in shades of dusty blue. Pants and a tunic, nothing showy, but much softer than his typical regalia. 

Erin was dressed up in a beautiful sea green that contrasted his red hair and eyes. Since Sardinia knew well of Erin’s unique profession, his clothes had been tailored close to the body in such a way that no extraneous bit of fabric could be caught or grabbed, and yet it allowed for a range of fluid motion. The result was a beautiful contradiction.

He flitted from stall to stall of the market with all the speed and grace of a bird in flight, never straying too far from Orion.

Contrary to Orion’s assumptions, the people of Sirena did work. Their hours were shorter and they were rewarded better for it, and that was the difference. Women carrying baskets of fruit and men with huge buckets of water hanging from their shoulders wove in and out of the streets. 

“Yes,” Orion said. “That’s why I wanted to spend some time on the street level at midday. If we observe the way Sardinia’s economy runs, maybe we can balance our own people’s lives to spare them a bit more time for leisure.”

Erin gave half a bemused laugh at that. “The people of Lama won’t know what to to with themselves.”

“I don’t want to change the very spirit that makes us Lama,” Orion said. “We will always be the star of steel, stoic and persevering. But our people should be allowed to have a meal with their families after work, to have at least a day’s rest once a week.”

“And breaks so that they don’t fall apart on the job,” Erin sighed. 

“What, do you need a break?”

“Not at all, I’m never off duty.”

Orion chuckled to himself. Erin was indeed impossible to get rid of. “Your heart is truly of Lama.”

Erin smiled in return, and for once his expression was honest, free of ridicule or danger. He was a young soldier who took pride in being praised by his king, somewhere, under all the blood he’d seen and smiles he’d forced himself to wear.

Orion wanted to remember him like this through times to come, smiling, with the sunlight sparkling on the lake behind him.

Unfortunately, the moment was broken by the hairs on his neck that stood up in the presence of danger.

Suspicious movement in the crowd. The same cloaked figure passed them twice. There was a man loitering, a woman pretending to look at some goods. One instance would be normal, but there were at least six that he could perceive and probably more that he couldn’t.

That’s why he had Erin.

Erin had already noticed, and moved closer to him with his knives in hand, hidden from alarming the crowd under his sleeve.

In Sirena, Orion wasn’t permitted to carry his sword, but anyone who came close to him would find out how formidable he was without it.

“Let’s move towards that pier,”  
Orion said, nodding his head in the direction of it. “I don’t want to draw the crowds into whatever this is, and there’s no one using it.”

It was a few meters wide and led out farther into the lake towards a staging area for boats. 

“After you,” Erin told him. 

He knew better than to question Erin’s judgement at a time like this and went ahead.

As soon as they began to move, he detected the familiar sound of an arrow loosed from its bow, and the proceeding clack of Erin’s knife knocking it out of the air. Then a cry as the crowd became aware and everything began to go to hell.

The position he’d chosen had the benefit of exposing who was a bystander and who was an enemy, since the crowd had run back towards the buildings for safety, and only their pursuers followed them out onto the pier.

Erin was already throwing his small knives as their pursuers showed themselves. 

The down side of Orion’s plan was that there was no escape except for into the lake, and growing up on Lama, he had never learned to swim. 

Erin didn’t flinch even as one of the group revealed her face, a young woman. She was the first to get a knife in her throat and keel over with a bloody wail. Sending someone like that might have worked on Orion, might have given him pause. His instinct would have been to disarm her and she could have exploited that.

But not Erin. He’d made it clear that no one who threatened his king was safe, man, woman, or child.

They seemed taken aback by his brutality, grouping together and surmising their odds. 

There were seven more of them not counting the woman who was either dead or dying. They seemed to realize that they were looking at a wild animal in a corner. 

Orion scanned over each of them trying to identify anything about them. They were dressed as Sirenians, but aside from that, there was little similarity. The youngest looked about Erin’s age and the eldest had greying hair. Two of the seven still standing were women, the others men. 

Their weapons were steel.

“Are they from Lama?” Orion asked aloud. He did have more enemies on Lama than he did on Sirena, he was sorry to admit. But how would they have gotten here without his knowing, with Sirena’s strict isolationist policy?

Erin didn’t seem to care where they were from as one stupidly came for him and was taken down with a kick in the head, Erin not even wasting a knife.

With a swipe of his foot, he slid the man’s sword to Orion. He picked it up just as the others figured out they’d only overcome them if they attacked in unison.

They were skilled. Orion’s suspicions were confirmed as the largest of the group, a middle aged man, took him on with a sword, using a distinctive technique of Lama’s armies. It took three attempts to parry him before Orion’s blade found his flesh.

They weren’t scattered rebels who refused to accept peace agreements. These were his royal soldiers.

Erin had already taken out two more, but the numbers were catching up to even him. Orin turned just at the moment Erin took a hard blow to the gut. He’d deflected the worse of it, but his enemy’s blade tore through the beautiful blue-green silk and stained it red. 

“Erin!” Orion shouted and quickly dispatched the sword-wielding woman. 

That left only two. One was a younger man, unfocused, eyes darting around in fear. He wouldn’t be a problem if Orion could take out this last one, but he had a spear and obvious skill in using it.

Orion’s blade would have torn the weapon to shreds, but the one he held in his hand wasn’t weighted for his use and barely managed to deflect it. 

He had to clear his mind of the thought of Erin’s wound and focus on the spear-wielder’s movements, his tells. He wasn’t ready to give anything away.

Thinking fast, he used a familiar ploy—pretending to attack and open himself up, only to take advantage of his enemy’s counter. It worked, he caught the spearman by surprise and ended him.

But the younger one hadn’t done the smart thing and run away. They must have got hold of him and indoctrinated him to whatever their calling was hard and fast for him to still stand with his allies dead.

He went after Erin.

Erin held his side with one hand, trying to keep the blood from gushing out, defending himself with a knife held out in the other. He was fading, he’d fall unconscious soon.

“Erin!” Orion screamed again as he ran for him, but he wouldn’t be able to reach.

In moments like this, it was like time slowed down. An evolutionary response, or so he was told. Little good it did, to be able to process every millisecond and be so acutely aware that he wouldn’t make it in time. 

Erin lost his footing. The idiot soldier who should have just laid down his arms went in for the final blow. Even in such a state, Erin was able to block his foolish attack—but the force of it sent him reeling back. Losing blood as severely he was, he couldn’t right himself. He fell from the end of the pier. He dropped out of sight, then a splash.

Orion’s blade ripped through the last remaining assassin’s body with all the rage and frustration building in him. He never had a chance. His body was cleaved nearly in two. 

Then it was quiet except for the cries of the crowd that seemed so distant and muffled, as if the rest of the world were behind glass and it was only him looking down into the water, clouds of red bubbling up to the surface where Erin fell.

His body moved of its own, although given time to think, he still wouldn’t have stopped. 

He tossed the sword aside and dove into the water.

Swimming couldn’t be that hard if Sardinia and the people of Sirena could do it so easily.

The waters of Sirena were clean and clear, and with the sunlight breaking through, he could make out Erin’s form sinking, a trail of red where he’d been. Orion’s could taste the copper of it as he descended, anger and desperation welling in him.

He did his best to imitate what his only impression of swimming had ever been, moving his arms in a fluid motion and kicking his legs. 

Soon he reached Erin and grasped the fabric of his shirt. Erin was still conscious, barely, looking up at him with the saddest, most resigned face that Orion had ever seen on him. _Don’t give up on me._. He pulled him into his arms.

Swimming against gravity and with two bodies to worry about proved to be more difficult than he anticipated. 

Holding his breath was much more challenging that people had always made it seem.

The surface was so far away. He could see the sparkling light, if he could just reach. As much as he kicked, it seemed that were sinking. 

Erin struggled weakly.

_You’d have me drop you to save myself, but I’m too stupid for that._

He held him tighter. Still sinking. His body screamed for air.

Erin went limp, unconscious. It didn’t help. 

What a way for it to end. Not even on his own world. Not even by the hands of those that wanted him dead. 

But he’d be with Erin, and at least that was as it should be.

As he held Erin’s body tight, he wished he could at least smell his hair, or feel how warm he was one last time. The light drifted away, and they were enveloped by darkness.

Then.

He was certain it was because he was dying, but the water seemed to be moving around him, enveloping them. A trick of his oxygen deprived brain.

But it kept on, and within a few seconds he was being propelled upward through no effort of his own.

He struggled to hold onto Erin as the water pushed him up, up, and back into the light.

He gasped as he broke the surface, filling his lungs with air as a thirsting man would drink from a spring in the desert.

He felt himself being not pulled up, but dropped hard onto the pier he’d fallen from.

“Can you stay a day in my lands without causing such trouble?” Came the soft but biting tone of Sardinia.

Orion looked up, his blurred vision clearing. Sardinia stood there, surrounded by droplets of water suspended in the air. With a flick of his wrist, the water was gone, splashing back into the lake.

“Don’t stand there and laugh while Erin is dying!” He coughed, pushing water out of his throat. 

“He won’t die,” Sardinia said with a smile. Attendants were already gathering around them, pulling Erin away so that he could be treated. “My fortunes are very accurate.”

Orion didn’t want to let him go. He groped in the air trying to catch his hand, but was too weak to reclaim him from them.

He watched as they used their Sirinian magic to pull the water from his lungs and put pressure on his wounds to stop the bleeding.

“Take special care with him,” Sardinia said. “Take them both to the castle’s healing pool, and quickly now, he’s in perilous condition.”

—-

Orion passed out at some point between here and there.

When he came to, he was lying in his back in a lukewarm bath. 

He started upright, scaring the wits out of the attendant who was treating him. “Where’s Erin?”

“He’s recovering,” Sardinia said from some distance. His voice echoed in the chamber.

Orion looked around himself. He was wearing nothing but a towel and his body was soaked in water with a greenish tint. The edges of the bath were exquisite marble. 

He was in a stone hall somewhere within the palace, he had to assume. There were many baths like the one he was in, and a larger poor in the distance. 

“Is this Sirina’s version of an infirmary?” He asked.

“I suppose.” Sardinia tilted his head and looked at him with a pout. “Are you an idiot? Jumping into the central lake with no idea of how to swim. Don’t you know how deep it runs?”

“Erin fell in,” Orion said, to which Sardinia only sighed. “Tell me, how is he? Can I see him?”

“Your own wounds aren’t too severe,”  
Sardinia said. “So I suppose I’ll take you to see him now.”

Orion stood just as two more attendants came to cover him in a robe. 

“We put Erin into a temporary stasis to heal, he said, beckoning for Orion to follow him. “Because his wound was so severe and he had lost so much blood, he needed to be suspended.”

“Suspended?”

As they turned the corner, Orion saw that they were headed to an egg-shaped room. Inside, he was not shocked to find Erin lying unconscious, but the manner in which he was being treated was like nothing he’d ever seen.

Erin was inside of a glass chamber filled with the same green-tinted water, with a mask over his face to allow him to breathe. 

“You can approach the glass if you wish, it’s quite safe.”

Orion stepped closer. Erin was floating inside with a peaceful expression. He didn’t seem to be in any pain. 

He gently touched the glass. “Thank you,” he said softly. “Sardinia. Thank you for saving us.”

“You should thank Shinkai. He is the one who sensed trouble. The color red, he said. And since I pulled The Fool this morning, I had a feeling it must be you.”

Orion let that one slide. “I thank you. Without you we’d surely be dead.”

“Please extend your stay, Orion.”

“Are you worried about me?”

Sardinia smiled behind his hand in his coy, teasing way. He and Erin had a few things in common, if he cared to think about it. “I’m always worried about you, King Orion,” Sardinia said. “But I simply can’t allow you to leave my star without learning how to swim.”

“Ha. And if you visit me I’ll teach you the sword.”

“I look forward to it, but let us settle the matter of your enemies first.”

“They were from Lama. I’ll handle it myself. You needn’t become involved, and I’m sorry that I brought Lama’s troubles to your star.”

“My people will be upset, that is true. This is the first incident of foreign violence in our lands since before the barrier. It’ll be more difficult for me to open up the borders to trade after this. However, I suspect that was the intended effect.”

Orion’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“We are still investigating the matter, but it appears that these assassins didn’t come directly from Lama. They were registered to one of the ships we’ve recently received from Eterno.”

“Star hopping to cover their tracks, I see.”

“I feel somewhat responsible, seeing as how it was my security that failed to screen out these infiltrators.”

“Let’s work together,” Orion said. “I can send some of my best men to train your leaders in security and defense.”

“And in return, I suppose you’ll ask for some of this amazing medical technology?”

Orion shook his head. “Whatever you’d be willing to share. Saving Erin puts me already in your debt.”

“Unfortunately the healing waters don’t hold their properties if they are removed from Sirena,” he said. 

“I assumed as much, or else you’d already have had Fang deliver aid to the other stars after the crisis

“How astute.” Sardinia twirled his hair around his finger, eyes glittering with curiosity, like Orion was some kind of amusing play actor. “But, I would be happy to send farmers and doctors to do what they can.”

“Thank you.”

“I told you, there is no need to thank me.”

—-

Erin was in a dark place, not unpleasantly so. For him, darkness was protection, a cloak he often wore.

It was warm. He wouldn’t mind staying there for a while, except that for even in this comforting place, the thought was ever present in his mind that he had someone to protect.

He was never off duty.

Roused by that reminder, he found the strength to open his eyes.

Blurry at first. The room was partitioned with curtains that softened the light from beyond. He appeared to be in some sort of infirmary, but the luxury of his silk sheets and fluffy pillow let him know that this was still very much Sirena.

He sensed a weight in the bed near his feet that wasn’t his own. Lifting his head, his eyes focused to a charming sight. King Orion was fast asleep, slumped over with his head down on the edge of the bed.

A smile spread across his face. Such an unexpected fondness had long crept into his heart for this man. He was too earnest and too kind. Someone had to protect him.

As he tried to move, he felt the world float around him. Drugs for pain, he thought. How silly of Sardinia to waste such a precious commodity on him. 

There was an unfamiliar tightness around his side. A bandage.

Right. He’d pushed the blade away from his vitals before it struck, but the wound had still been deep enough to bleed out.

That’s when he remembered the water. The feeling of being so sure he’d taken his last breath.

“Idiot,” Erin said under his breath, remembering Orion’s face clearly. 

He leaned forward with a sigh and touched his hand to Orion’s head. Though his intent was to wake him, when Orion didn’t stir, he gave into the selfish urge to dig his fingers into the soft silver hair.

Orion made a small sound deep in his chest and sucked a mighty breath into his lungs before his eyes opened. He looked at Erin lazily for a moment, stretching. Then his eyes widened and lit up with realization.

“Erin, you’re awake!”

The chair clattered to the floor. Before Erin could protest, Orion’s arms were tight around his neck.

“Stop it, I didn’t survive all that just so you could smother me to death.”

Orion didn’t listen and didn’t let go. “I thought you were going to die.”

“You jumped in after me.”

“Of course I did.”

“You can’t swim. How stupid can you be?”

Orion didn’t reply except with a strained breath. Erin felt wetness against his face. 

“Are you crying?”

Orion his his face against Erin’s hair. “No.”

Erin sighed and returned the embrace, holding his arms as well as he could around Orion’s broad shoulders. “Are you unharmed?”

He felt the warmth of Orion’s nose and mouth pressed against the side of his head and fingers groping through his hair. A clumsy kiss, but enough to send a shiver through Erin. To think that he could be so precious to the king that he’d forget himself.

Erin pushed against his shoulders to pry him away. “Are you unharmed?” he asked again, force in his tone.

Orion blinked. “Of course I am. Just a scrape or two.”

“What were you thinking?”

Orion scowled. “I don’t care if you scold me, I’d do it again.”

Erin sank back into the bed, slapping his hand against his forehead. “How am I supposed to protect you if you go doing things like jumping in lakes?” 

“Next time, don’t get stabbed.”

“Like its just so easy.” Erin laughed. “Of course you’d say that.”

“Erin, I...”. Perhaps he’d realized how uncharacteristic his embrace had been, as color blossomed on his pale skin. “I can’t afford to lose you.”

“I know you wouldn’t last a day without me,” he laughed. “But is that all?”

“You...”

No one had ever asked to be teased as much, the way he blushed and struggled with his words.

“I couldn’t _bear_ to lose you.”

Erin smiled. “I see. In that case, I’ll try harder.” 

Erin was contemplating how else he could tease the poor king, but one of Sardinia’s many attendants appeared.

“Would the king of Lama like to eat now?” She asked politely, bowing. “My king Sardinia grows concerned for your health.”

Erin chuckled. “So worried about me that you didn’t even eat, huh...”

“Shut up.”


	2. Heart of Lama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok real talk, I don’t have any plan or reason to continue this fic but I just wanted more fluff and I figured you would like it, too. 
> 
> Also minor warning: drug use (it’s medical and nothing bad happens but still worth pointing out)

Orion settled in for another night in Sirena. He had been scheduled to return to Lama in the morning, but due to Erin’s injury, Sardinia insisted they stay another week. 

Erin had already been released from the infirmary and was healing well on his own. Orion accepted Sardinia’s invitation with other issues in mind.

He needed to suss out if any more enemies to the crown were here in Sirena, and if they intended Sardinia harm, not just himself. He couldn’t abide if these deserters from Lama made an attempt on anyone else.

His lodgings were more than he needed. The room was as big as his quarters in his own castle. He preferred a harder mattress, and he didn’t need such fluffy down blankets considering the weather here was mild, but he couldn’t complain. 

He opened the door of the wardrobe and picked one of the robes that had been hung there for him. When he closed the door, he nearly jumped out of his skin to find Erin there where he hadn’t been before, like some sort of boogie man. The robe fell to the floor.

“Ah, did I scare you?” Erin teased. “Don’t shriek so loud, geez. Someone may think there’s an assassin in your room.”

Orion took a deep breath to calm his heart. “You—“ There was a knock at the door.

A man’s voice. “King Orion? Is everything all right?”

“Yes, I am fine,” he answered, and scowled at Erin. “Could you stop causing trouble?”

Erin folded his arms and huffed. “Sorry if I don’t trust Sardinia’s guards to protect you. I got in here no problem, after all.”

“You’re a special case.” Orion went to check the window where Erin had no doubt come in from. It wouldn’t lock properly. He groaned. Erin wasn’t wrong, after all. “They really must tighten up their security. I’ll consult with Sardinia about it tomorrow.”

He turned back to Erin, who stood in the corner of his room wearing a night shirt and pants in Sirena’s style, feet bare. Sirena’s wispy, thin garments suited his slender figure. The oceanic color complimented his bright hair and peachy skin. 

He cleared his throat. “You are supposed to be resting.”

“But I feel so good!” Erin stretched his arms wide and turned in a slow circle. “Sirena’s healing pool does wonders.”

“And their pain medicine does wonders too, I bet.”

Erin shrugged. “I told Sardinia I’m quite used to pain and not to waste such a thing on me. But he said they have plenty, it grows right out in the fields. So I thought, why not try a bit?”

“It fogs your mind,” Orion said. “All the more reason you shouldn’t be darting around the rafters at night in your condition.”

“Tut, tut. I feel more awake and alert than ever. The air here smells so good when the wind rolls in from the lake.”

Orion watched as Erin plopped into his bed, waving his arms and legs as if to make a snow angel in his blankets.

“Erin.” He sat down at the edge of his bed. “Let me check your wound.”

“Eh?” Erin rolled over like a cat and plopped his head into Orion’s lap as naturally as if it were his pillow. “Well, if you insist.” He nuzzled his face against his thigh. “Hmm, king, you smell nice today. Did King Sardinia give you some perfume?”

“Of course not, you’re just medicated to hell.”

“Hm, that must be your natural smell. How wonderful.” 

Orion growled and blocked him from crawling even deeper into his lap. “Stay _still_.”

Erin obeyed and laid motionless in his lap as Orion lifted his shirt. The bandage taped over his wound wasn’t saturated as it would be if the wound had opened, but underneath the bandage there was a small spot of blood oozing out.

“I’m taking you back to the infirmary.”

“No,” Erin whined like a petulant child, pulling his shirt back down over it. “It’s fine. They said a little bit is normal, as long as I don’t move around too much it should be fine.”

“So why then,” Orion grumbled, “do you insist on doing gymnastics out on the roof?”

Erin lifted himself up onto his knees, swaying. Orion could see clearly that his face was flushed and eyes were blown. “I have to protect you,” he said, deadly serious. 

“You already have, plenty of times.” 

“Always,” Erin said in reply, shaking his head. “Never stopping.”

“You’re delirious.” Orion extended his arm to touch Erin’s face and check him for a fever. Erin wasn’t unusually warm, but he leaned into the touch and cupped Orion’s palm against his cheek, preventing him from taking his hand back.

“Don’t ever leave my sight again,” Erin said, nuzzling against Orion’s hand. “Next time, I’ll kill every last one. Let them all know that the penalty of touching my king is death. Swift. And. Painful.”

Orion didn’t feel like arguing this late at night with a heavily medicated Erin. “I need to clean the wound,” he said. 

Erin pouted and held his hand tighter like it belonged to him now. “Boo.”

“Come on.” He sighed, and gave into Erin’s neediness, rubbing his cheek with his thumb. It was like petting an annoying cat. “Lie down.”

Erin laid on his side with the wound facing up. Hard to keep a wound like this elevated, but at least he wasn’t lying on top of it.

Orion had a basin and a damp washcloth on the nightstand, as he had just washed his face in getting  
ready for bed. He patted it against Erin’s bare skin.

Erin flinched and whimpered. “It’s cold.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.” He worked quickly to clean the wound and check it for openings. It seemed to be healing up faster than usual thanks to the Sirenian process. It might not even leave a scar.

Not that a new scar would be out of place on Erin’s body. He had many, from years of scraping by on the streets in war time. 

A jagged pink line at Erin’s rib caught his attention. It had to have been made recently, as it haven’t faded into white like the others. Orion couldn’t remember if Erin had even told him about this one, or if he’d suffered it on his own.

He wondered if that scar would be on his body, if not for Erin.

He felt Erin curl under his touch. “Your hand is warm,” he said. “Orion.”

Orion liked the sound of his name used so informally, and on Erin’s breathy sigh. With the bandage in place, he smoothed Erin’s shirt down over his skin.

Erin hummed a happy sound. “It feels good when you touch me,” he said. 

“I think you took a bit too much of whatever Sardinia gave you.”

“Of course not.”

Orion kicked his shoes off and pulled back the blankets. “If I let you stay with me tonight, will you avoid causing trouble for the guards?”

Erin smiled teasingly. When his mouth curled up like that and his eyes were narrowed and sparkling, it only lent more to the cat analogy Orion had on his mind. 

Erin bumped his head against Orion’s shoulder. “I will stay, if you kiss me again.”

“Kiss you?” Orion was glad that Erin likely couldn’t see his face. He’d be teased to eternity. 

“Like at the infirmary,” Erin said. “It felt so good.”

Orion thought back and couldn’t remember doing that. He only remembered being so overwhelmed that his eyes burned with tears. Embarrassing. 

But there was little hope that Erin would remember this tomorrow, so he may as well fulfill his wish. It wasn’t as if Erin ever asked for much.

He knelt and lowered his head to kiss Erin’s forehead. The breathy sigh from Erin’s chest as his lips touched his skin made his heart swell. 

“Is that what you wanted?” He asked. 

“Yeah,” Erin said, and seemed content for a moment, gazing fondly at Orion.

But soon a wicked grin spread across his face. He clapped his arms around Orion’s neck and pulled him down with his weight.

“No, no more,” Orion groaned as Erin groped and pulled at him, giggling and whining.

Anyone else might have had trouble with a squirming ex-assassin in their bed, but Orion had subdued him the night they met, and he could still do so now.

“Lay down,” he growled, and pushed him onto his side, trying his best not to hurt him.

“You’re no fun!”

“It’s time to sleep.” 

With a heavy arm and a blanket wrapped around him, Erin couldn’t move anywhere. After a moment passed, he relaxed and sank back against Orion’s chest.

It seemed he had given up on struggling, but Orion knew better than to let go.

Erin smelled of aromatic herbs and medicine from the baths. Orion could feel his heartbeat against his chest, rapid at first, and then slowing to a sleepy pace. 

“Kill them all,”. Erin mumbled, like a child dreaming of gumdrops. “I have to...” a yawn, “...protect my king.” 

Orion sighed. He might have been cute if not for the morbid context, but it was Erin, after all. 

—-

Morning came and Erin woke. 

He struggled against the urge to drift back to sleep, which was so unlike him. His sleep was never so deep, he was trained to wake at the drop of a pin. Even more concerning was how sluggish his mind and his body were. Opening his eyes was a chore.

The drugs, he thought. Sardinia’s treatment came with some pleasant side effects, but Orion wasn’t kidding when he said that they dulled the mind.

The room was full of sunlight and fresh air. Erin couldn’t believe that even under the influence of such a drug, he’d allowed himself to sleep when he needed to be watching Orion.

It alarmed him to find his movements met with resistance. He realized then that the heavy weight holding him was Orion’s arm locked tightly around his waist.

The sleeping king’s breath tickled the back of his neck to affirm the situation. 

He groaned as interactions from the night before came to mind in a fog of feelings intermingled with words he wasn’t sure he’d said aloud. 

“Are you awake?” 

The raspy whisper in his ear made him shiver. Maybe he could just pretend to be asleep, and this wouldn’t have to end so soon.

“Erin, I know you are.”

“Oh, fine,” Erin grumbled. “You don’t have to kick me out of bed, I’ll go.”

“You don’t have to leave,” Orion said. Under normal circumstances, Erin would have teased the hell out of him for such a timid tone and the blush on his face, but he was off his game this morning. Orion’s soft voice and sleep-tousled hair left him unable to think of any joke to make at his expense. “I just need to check your bandage, that’s all.”

Erin sat up. “I can do that myself.”

Orion’s arm stopped him. “Next time, tell me when you’ve been hurt.”

“What are you even talking about? Ah—“. He gasped as he felt Orion’s hand slide under his shirt.

“Here,” he said, drawing a line over his ribs with his finger.

Erin was hard pressed to even remember that he had a scar there. “Ah, that?” He tried laughing it off as he squirmed out of Orion’s grasp and to his feet. The hot feeling that consumed his body caused him to trip. And he thought the drugs were bad.

“L-look, I’ve got all clean bandages and stuff in my room so I’ll just go back there.”

Orion heaved a resigned sigh. “Use the door this time.” He turned over and pulled the blankets over his shoulders.

Erin found himself in an uncomfortable position of his own design. His feet were bare against the cold marble floor and if he left through the door as Orion said, the guards would surely think he was Orion’s bed boy. Not that he really cared so much about that, and Sirinians seemed pretty open about sex in general compared to Lama anyway, but _uhg_. It was cold, and Orion was warm and smelled good. He wanted back in.

Orion groaned, having felt Erin dip into the bed in spite of his best attempts not to disturb him.

“If you’re going to stay, don’t fuss so much, I’m trying to sleep. Someone kept me up all night with their mischief, you know.”

Erin curled up against Orion’s back. “Hm, but you couldn’t _bear_ to lose me, that’s what you said.”

“And you said _don’t ever leave my sight again_.”

Erin didn’t realize how much artillery he’d provided Orion with in his giddy state last night. He would never take that medicine again, no matter how good it felt.

“That’s because my king is exceedingly terrible at self-preservation.”

Orion didn’t argue the point. 

It wasn’t long before Erin could tell that he was sleeping from the slow rhythm of his breath. 

He wouldn’t fall asleep again, but was content to press his ear against Orion’s back and listen to his heart beat.


	3. Sardinia’s Swimming Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s more?? Right now I’m working on a few ideas held together by vague stuff so idk where it’s going but I want to do more with it so here’s another chapter.

Erin pouted as he looked at himself in the mirror. Skin tight clothes meant for swimming didn’t leave him any room to hide a knife. He’d have to belt one, and if anyone complained about him carrying a weapon they’d be looking down at the business end of it.

There had been no new information about their attackers, but it would be naive to assume that every member of whatever organization planned the attack had been killed.

Specifically, he remembered intercepting arrows, but none of the soldiers had a bow on them, and none was found even after a thorough inspection of the scene.

There was also the appearance of that young girl in the group. Lama’s armies did include women, but not very many and not that young. He wondered if their group had been a mix of rebels and deserters, two groups who’d normally be at odds with each other:

It made him antsy to be out of Orion’s presence for even a minute to change his clothes.

He emerged from the changing area dressed in the swimwear, not more than a pair of shorts. 

Sardinia seemed to like this color on him, a seafoam green. Erin liked how he looked in it too, but the sparkly trim would be a nuisance trying to sneak around.

Orion joined him wearing a similar thing, but his had a halter style top and pants that reached the calf. Perhaps shorts would be too scandalous for a king. Not that a skin tight clothes of any cut would fare any better on Lama. 

Every muscle and curve of his body was easy to see. His face, although set into his trademark frown, was bright red.

“My king, please get ahold of yourself.”

Orion cleared his throat. “I’m not accustomed to...” He didn’t finish.

“What? Words?”

Before Orion could bark at him for that, an attendant came and led them to the pool. Thankfully this attendant was male, or Orion might have died on the spot.

“So we finally get to try one of these out, huh?” Erin said. Pools were everywhere in Sirena, deep troughs of water lined with stone. This one was shallow enough that he could stand in it at one end, and deep enough to drown at the other. 

Rays of the sun shone into the chamber through enormous glass windows, panes as long and wide as sheets of steel on Lama. Flowering plants lined the stone all around the pool. Erin had noticed Orion looking at them already and smiled to himself. 

Sardinia appeared, joining them from an entrance opposite them. Erin wondered if he’d actually walked in that direction just to be dramatic.

Whatever Erin had thought about shorts being too showy for a king was proven wrong, as Sardinia’s suit was cut all the way to the hip bones, exposing pale, slender legs. Though his chest was covered up to a high neck, there was a keyhole across his back down to the curve of his waist, and he only covered himself with a gossamer-thin shawl painted with ocean colors. He had as many jewels and gold bangles on his person as ever.

Erin turned his head and found Orion staring with his mouth agape. He knew Sardinia liked to have his fun, but did he have to be so damn erotic?

He pressed the heel of his foot onto Orion’s toes until he yelped.

“What is the big idea?” Orion hissed through his teeth.

“Just reminding you that I’m here, since you seemed to have forgotten.”

—-

Orion didn’t care much about his own appearance, but it was going to be difficult to concentrate with two capricious little nymphs wearing almost nothing dancing around him.

Erin wrinkled his nose at him, but honestly Orion was just trying not to stare. Those shorts were _short_. And then Sardinia... well, there wasn’t much to land his eyes on around here that wouldn’t get him in trouble.

“When you said you’d give us a swim lesson, I didn’t think you’d literally be the one giving the lesson,” Orion said.

Sardinia’s lips curled into a smile. “It sounded like fun, so here I am.”

“Well,” he said, taking a deep breath. They had best get this over with. “What first?”

“Oh...” Sardinia ignored the question and took a step closer to Erin, lips pursed. “My dear, so many scars. Didn’t the healing pool help at all?”

Erin laughed, unconcerned, even as Sardinia’s fingers graced his skin. “They did, I had a lot more before, I promise!”

Orion felt his body react before he was consciously aware of why. Watching Sardinia’s slender fingers trace a scar on Erin’s chest, his muscles tightened and he clenched his teeth. To think that someone else was touching Erin in such an intimate way made his blood boil. Confusing. And then, he couldn’t deny the part of him that would like to be in Erin’s place, being caressed by such a gentle touch. 

What a fun day.

—-

Sardinia led them into the shallow end of the pool and Erin followed.

“Before we learn the different motions, what you need to understand first is how to let yourself float.”

“Ooh, me first!” Erin sloshed through the water to join him.

It sure was a strange feeling. He’d taken baths before, but those are warm and you don’t stand upright in them. Standing in water up to the chest and trying to walk through it reminded him how heavy water actually was, how much of his strength was required to push against it.

But Sardinia moved through it like a swan. Graceful motions. “Ah, I see, it’s like throwing a man that’s heavier than you.” You had to let the weight work for you. He pushed out into the water with his arm outstretched and let himself glide toward Sardinia.

“Strange analogy,” Sardinia mused. “But I enjoy how different your view of the world is from my own.”

“Am I doing it? Am I floating?”

Sardinia giggled behind his hand, but had no bellowing sleeve to cover his face. “Not quite, although you’re doing better than, ah...”

Both of them turned to find Orion kicking and flopping through the water as if it were thick as mud. “Why are you two looking at me?” He snapped. 

Sardinia sighed. “Please watch, while I show Erin. Then we will deal with, ah...” he waved in Orion’s direction. “All of that.”

Erin laughed. “Okay!”

—-

Orion watched as Sardinia instructed Erin. 

“Take a deep breath,” he said. “And lean back.”

Erin filled his lungs with air and a peaceful expression fell over his face as he let the water take him. With his arms and legs outstretched, he floated on the surface as easily as a leaf.

“It’s like spreading your limbs out when you fall,” Erin said. Sardinia laughed again at his morbid analogies. 

Erin was taking to this frustratingly well. He supposed that with his abilities, he could adapt to almost any conditions.

Orion wasn’t as flexible. Being in the water like this only reminded him even more of that moment he’d almost lost Erin. How cold it had been. Not relaxing at all.

“Ah, careful.” Sardinia returned to a standing position and slid his hand under Erin’s back to support him. “Weight in the center and you’ll sink, you see?”

“Right,” Erin said. “This is fun.”

Sardinia laughed. “Somehow I knew that you would like it.”

Did he have to keep touching Erin like that? There was absolutely no need to linger so much, or to brush his fingers along the skin with every touch. 

“Seems easy enough,” Orion said. He took a deep breath, leaned back, and... 

Fell under the water.

He felt the force of the water push him back up, body parallel to the surface of the water.

“Am I doing it?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Sardinia sighed. His hand wasn’t touching him, but his power to control the shape of the water was supporting his abdomen from below. “I’m holding you up.”

Orion spit water. “What am I doing wrong?”

“You’ve got to relax, and bring a deep breath into your body.”

“Ah, king...”. Erin sighed and cut through the water with his newfound grace to reach him. “Poor thing. ‘Relax’ isn’t even in his vocabulary.”

Orion suppressed the sound that threatened to worm its way out and embarrass him even more as he felt Erin’s hand slide under his back and down. 

“Lift your butt, you dummy,” Erin laughed. “And don’t tense up, geez.”

Blocking out the both of them was in itself an exercise in spiritual concentration. Even a thousand year old priest from Mistero would be tense with these two prodding at them. 

He had a lot of practice at ignoring Erin, at least.

“Ah, you’re getting it now,” Sardinia said. Orion disregarded the patronizing tone.

He felt the pressure of Sardinia’s water magic underneath him soften until he was floating on his own.

“Even a heavy lug like you can float,” Erin said, grinning. 

“That’s it, you!” Orion reached to grab Erin, who wasn’t quite as fast as usual in the water. He was able to catch him by the waist and lift him up.

Erin’s giddy laughter reminded Orion again how young he was, and how much of childhood he had missed. Perhaps Sardinia, the same age as Erin and already a king, felt the same. He laughed too, as Orion brought Erin down into the water with a splash.

“Please, please!” Sardinia interrupted just as Erin was planning a counterattack. “You can play as much as you like after I’ve taught you the basics.”

Orion had just gotten Erin into a headlock and was disappointed to have to set him loose. “Oh fine.”

He supposed the same could be said of him, only a few years older than these two. He had never been given the opportunity to be a child either, and though he was far too grown to pass for one, he found himself laughing as Erin splashed him back.

—-

Once he’d gotten the hang of buoyancy, Erin took quickly to swimming. Soon he was darting around like an otter, although he realized he needed to be more aware of his hair and not get tangled up in it.

Orion wasn’t doing as well, which gave him plenty of one-on-one time with Sardinia, who was happy to baby him with his hydromancy. Orion was blushing the whole time. Erin rolled his eyes.

A hint of movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. By the time he turned his head up to the glass ceilings, nothing was there. 

If it had been a bird he would have caught it flying off.

“You know,” he said. “I think I’m done for the day, but keep trying, King.”

“Erin?” Orion floundered mid-stroke as Erin got out of the pool. “Erin, where are you going?”

“Just taking a walk,” Erin said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

Orion wasn’t buying it, but that was okay. He would never be able to catch up.

Erin was barefoot, but he had insisted on wearing a knife. That was enough.

He darted off, keeping his eyes fixed on that spot beyond the glass. 

—-

Getting outside was the hard part, since Orion had been working with Sardinia’s security and he was dressed strangely—or not dressed, rather.

But once he’d found an exit, climbing the Sirenian architecture was a breeze. It was gaudy as everything else in their culture, ribbons and banners hung everywhere, perfect for climbing.

He reached the spot above the pool soon, and saw that he and Sardinia were no longer in it. Boo. Could Orion just relax and trust him to handle these matters?

Although, the idea of Orion being worried for him, his safety, and not just for what kind of trouble he might cause made him smile.

As expected, there was a crossbeam that supported the roof where one could look into the glass room easily. He scanned it, finding nothing at first, but then.

There was a single black hair caught by the beam.

—-

Orion dressed himself, and this time he gave no heed to Sardinia’s fashion choices. He dressed as the king of Lama with his sword at his side, and anyone who had a problem with how he looked would find out how cold and militant a king from Lama could be.

Sardinia had covered himself in a fluffy white robe. His hair was still wet. Orion supposed this was acceptable dress in Sirena. 

He sat on his throne with Shinkai by his side.

“It’s been less than an hour,” Sardinia said, while playing with a deck of cards. “I’m sure he’s capable of taking care of himself.”

“I’m going to look for him.”

“You should most definitely not do that.”

Orion opened his mouth to argue some string words towards Sardinia, but he was interrupted as the throne room doors opened, Erin’s smiling face behind them.

Sardinia’s guards allowed him through. He was still wearing only his swim shorts and a knife on a belt, no shoes.

“Ah, you two could have kept swimming without me, you know?”

Orion’s voice boomed in the throne room. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Just felt like a walk.”

“I think not.” Orion unbuttoned his coat and draped it over Erin’s shoulders. He exhaled a deep sigh of relief. “You could have at least grabbed a shirt, you look like a streaker.”

“Ha ha, how scandalous.”

Sardinia shifted in his chair. If he was getting tired of Erin’s antics, he wasn’t the only one. “Perhaps Erin would feel like telling us where he’s been in a more private setting.”

—-

The difference in attitude between Lama and Sirena was apparent in every facet of design. The grandiose halls, and even the throne room itself, were paned with glass and open on all ends. 

Sardinia hadn’t even been able to to think of a secure enough room, and eventually led them to his bed chamber.

“You need to build a secure room,” Orion said. “Sound proof and solid.”

“I’ll take that tip under consideration.”

Sardinia opened the doors. His bedroom was bigger than most people’s houses on Lama, and lavishly furnished as expected.

Orion sighed to see that Sardinia had an open balcony that anyone with some climbing equipment could come in through. 

“Well that’s just wide open,” Erin sighed. “What will you do if someone attacks you?”

“I can look after myself,” Sardinia said.

Orion scoffed at that. “I don’t doubt your powers, but I find your reliance on fortune telling naive at best.” 

“And at worst?”

“Arrogant,” Orion said. 

“How blunt.”

“At least we’re away from prying ears,” Erin said. “I spotted someone today who was either an enemy scout, or a really dedicated peeping Tom.”

Sardinia seemed to want to laugh at that but held his neutral facial expression. “What did they look like?”

“Didn’t get a good look,” he said. “But I did find this.” He held up the hair he’d found, carefully wound around his finger so that he wouldn’t lose it. He unraveled it. “The length doesn’t say much, and black hair is common, too. The only thing it proves is that someone out there hasn’t given up.”

Sardinia looked at them both, his deep eyes asking, like a child at school. As much as he chapped Orion’s side, he was humble about the things he wanted to learn. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“First off,” Erin said. “If you’re going to sleep in a room with such a huge window, could you at least post night guards in the tower facing you so that they can spot anyone hanging around?”

“I will do that.”

Orion sighed. “Without any clues to go on, we’re stuck waiting until they make a move.”

“Not quite,” Sardinia said. “Both Shinkai and I are skilled at predictions after all.” He waved his hand as if to dismiss them. “The two of you should rest tonight. By morning, with luck, I’ll have a divination for you.”

“Wonderful,” Orion grumbled.

Erin shrugged. “Hey, Shinkai’s never been wrong before.”

“Somehow, I think we will need more than a prophetic color to go on.”

—-

Later that night, Orion had no choice but to take Sardinia’s advice and rest. If this were Lama, he would feel confident in drawing his enemies out into the open. On Sirena, there was too much unfamiliar territory.

There was a knock at his door.

“Come in.”

Erin entered, dressed in his typical black garments from Lama. He shut the door behind him. 

He extended his arm to hand him the cloak Orion had put over his shoulders earlier that day. “I came to return this.”

Orion took it and threw it in the edge of the bed. “Tired of Sardinia’s fashions?”

Erin gave him that smile that wasn’t all teasing, and made his heart jump just a little bit. “Maybe I’m just homesick for Lama,” he said. “Will we be leaving soon?”

Orion turned to look out from his window. Night in Sirena brought with it a peaceful atmosphere. The lake was still, and the glitter of the moon and stars reflected in the water’s surface.

“It’s too bad,” Orion sighed. “That style suits you.”

“My king,” Erin said, annoyance in his tone. “Will we return to Lama soon?”

“I don’t know.”

He could sense Erin’s frustration in his tone without needing to look at him. “You know that whatever faction arranged this hit on us likely blew most of their resources on the attack. They’re doing reconnaissance now, but it’s unlikely they’ll risk another attack for quite a while, if ever.”

“Those are sound assumptions, but not facts.”

“We can send others to instruct Sardinia on how to fortify the place and root out what remains of this rebel faction. You don’t need to stay here in a foreign country where you are the most vulnerable.”

Orion kept his eyes fixed on the horizon over the lake, flat and glittering like a mirror’s surface. 

“Erin,” he said. “Would you stay with him?”

He heard Erin laugh bitterly. “With Sardinia, while you go home without me? Please don’t ask that of me.”

Orion chuckled softly. “What, is Sardinia on your nerves already?”

“He and I get along just fine,” Erin said. “But Sardinia is not my king. It would be a shame for our new allies in Sirena to fall under attack, but my duty is to protect _you_.”

Orion remembered his drugged up ramblings of a few nights prior. “Well then, we’ll both stay.”

He turned and found Erin looking at him as if he’d just said the stupidest thing. “Should I even ask what your logic is...”

“Sirena never had problems like this before they began to open up,” he said. “And most of that trade has been with Lama. We bear a responsibility to this star—I bear it, as the king who is most at fault for all this strife.”

“You are not—“

Orion kept on without giving him room to talk around him. “The only person that I can trust to protect Sardinia without a doubt is you, Erin.”

Erin huffed at that. “Ah, my king praised me, what a joyous day.”

“Don’t be snarky.”

“Fine.”

“So, if you don’t want to be left here then I’ll just have to stay, too.”

Erin sighed again. “You are so dumb, and yet it’s difficult to argue with you. You’re heart is always right, after all.”

Erin brushed past him and opened the window. He jumped up into it as easily as a cat.

Orion reached for his arm and was surprised that he was able to grab it before Erin disappeared into the night. He wondered if Erin had simply allowed him to.

“Where are you going?”

Erin shook his head. “Look, if you want me to protect Sardinia then I need to go on patrol in my own way. Otherwise, what’s the point?”

“Just...”. Orion tightened his grip around Erin’s wrist. “Please, be careful.”

Erin smiled. “I always am.”

“Come back before dawn, get some rest for gods’ sakes.”

Erin pulled him closer by the grip on his arm. His grin was teasing as ever. “If I’m good, will you let me sleep in your big comfy bed again?”

“I’ll give it to you.”

“I’ll hold you to it!” 

He pulled his hand away. As Orion expected, he could have broken his gold at any time. Erin gave him a mischievous wink and leapt from his window. 

Orion tried to keep his eyes trained on him for as long as he could, but Erin quickly disappeared into the midnight blue shadows.


	4. When it Rains

#   
Erin hadn’t expected to spot anyone during his night vigil. 

Whoever was watching them must have been something of an amateur to risk it on a clear day and in such a visible spot. They must be desperate for information on Sardinia and Orion’s daily movements. Perhaps they hoped to strike again before Orion left the planet and rejoined with the forces of Lama.

Atop the highest tower, Erin could see the entire city sitting on the lake. At night there were lamps that glowed a soft blue on every street. Their security may be lacking, but at least their city was well lit. Whoever wanted Orion dead was out there right now, sulking in the shadows.

A drop of rain hit his nose. Sirena was so abundant in water, he hadn’t smelled the rain coming. Even the sunniest days here could quickly change to rain.

He couldn’t even retreat to a covered space before the sky poured down like some childish god spilling his bucket all over. 

Erin doubted that an amateur spy would attempt scaling the walls of the royal castle tonight, and the sun would be up in an hour anyway.

Or maybe he was just eager to claim his reward.

—-

Orion woke to the sound of thunder and pouring rain. It was still dark.

Erin wouldn’t have returned yet. The thought of him out there in the rain made him even more anxious, but that thought was interrupted. His instincts were still keen enough to realize that he wasn’t alone in the room. When he listened, he could hear the faint sound of breath.

He unsheathed the knife he’d stuffed under his pillows and threw the blankets back.

Erin was there, dressed in a shirt that was too big for him and curled up with his head at the foot of the bed.

“King, _please_.”

Orion exhaled a tense breath and set the knife down. “Is that my shirt?”

Erin pulled the covers back over himself. “Uh huh.”

Even though the lamp was out and the skies where too murky to cast much moonlight through the window, Orion could see Erin’s slender legs hanging out of one side of the blanket. “Why are you laying like that?”

“My hair got all sopping wet and I didn’t want to get your pillows damp, you might catch a cold.”

“So you slipped into the bed, not only having helped yourself to my favorite shirt, but also soaking wet? That’s great.” He took a pillow under his arm and got out of the bed.

The floor was marble, but there was a plush rug on his side. As he laid down, he found the cool temperature of the floor something of a balm against his back and his legs, still sore from swimming lessons.

Erin peeked over the edge of the bed. “What are you doing down there?”

Orion sighed. “I said I’d give you the bed. Stretch your arms out, take all the blankets, do whatever you want..”

“Yeah, but aren’t you uncomfortable?”

“No.” It wasn’t the best but it was far from uncomfortable. “That mattress is way too soft anyway.”

“I want to take one back to Lama for my room.”

“Fine, I’ll buy one.”

Orion attempted to shut his eyes and fall asleep, but he was painfully aware of Erin still peering at him.

“ _What?_ ”

“Isn’t it cold down there?”

“It’s perfectly refreshing, now go to sleep!”

“But.” Erin sulked. “King, I’m afraid of the dark, so you have to come back up here.”

“I’d sooner believe the dark is afraid of you.” 

“Hm.” Although half his face was hidden behind the edge of his bed, Orion could tell that he was sulking. “Thunder, then. I’m afraid of thunder, so you’re going to have to come up here and hold me tenderly.”

Orion took one deep breath and let it out. He placed the pillow aside and got up to kneel beside the bed.

He cupped his hands on either side of Erin’s face, and looked deeply into his eyes.

“Erin,” he said. “If you don’t let me sleep, I am going to murder you.”

Erin grinned. Orion knew that it as an empty threat, but it still frustrated him to know how unthreatening he was.

Erin’s skin was cool to the touch, and he was shivering.

It wasn’t anywhere near what Orion would consider cold here on Sirena, but Erin was a smaller man and quite skinny, too. The rain must have chilled him to the bone.

He stood and lit the lamp that sat on the bedside table.

“What are you doing?” 

In the light, Erin’s figure wearing only his button down shirt made his heart jump up into his throat. He’d let his hair down to dry and it was in a red mess pouring over his shoulders. Orion had never spent a night rolling around with a lover, but he imagined that’s what they’d look like in the morning if he did.

He coughed and quickly busied himself with the task at hand to try and clear his mind of that thought.

In the room’s closet there was a thick wool throw. It had been on the bed when he first arrived in Sirena, and the night were so warm, he couldn’t have imagined needing it.

He took it out and returned to the side of the bed. Once he threw it over Erin’s shoulders it was easier to look at him. The fluffy thing swallowed Erin up.

“Could have just told me you were cold.”

He laid back down on the floor where he had been, this time with his back toward Erin to block any teasing looks, and was thankful once again for the cool stone that sapped away some of the uncomfortable heat. 

He wondered if Erin ever learned how much his jokes tortured him if he would stop, or if he’d become even more intolerable. 

—

Erin watched Orion lay back down on the floor by himself and wondered how his king could be so unbelievably dumb. 

He rolled over and curled up into the warm spot where Orion had been. With the thick fleece over him, his body soon recovered its warmth. 

It smelled like him, the same way it had the morning he’d woken up in Orion’s arms. The heavy blanket draped over his shoulders could not compare. 

Although if Orion truly had no interest, it would be selfish to try and recreate that moment.

—-

When Orion woke again, light was shining through his window. The rain had stopped.

He stood up, wondering if he’d overslept. Although he wouldn’t recommend it every night, the floor had been just what he needed.

The bed was empty, however. Blankets laid in disarray over the mattress.

Erin had slept less than 4 hours. There was no trace of his clothing in the room, and at the edge of the bed was Orion’s white shirt, neatly folded.

He held it up in front of himself. Despite Erin’s attempts to tidy it, the shirt was wrinkled and would need to be pressed.

Without thinking, he pulled it close to his face and inhaled. It was rich with Erin’s smell, earthy and warm. T reminded him of home.

He grumbled at the realization of what he was doing and tossed it aside. He’d have to wear one of Sardinia’s outfits today. 

—-

He spent the day walking with Sardinia and Shinkai. The goal was to tour the grounds again and see the palace from all angles.

The more he saw, the more he realized how vulnerable Sirena would be to attack. 

“A man was able to sneak in here and get your star shard,” he said, as they followed a path that wound through pools and gardens. “And another group attacked Erin and me, but—“

Sardinia was carrying a folding fan with him and snapped it to cut Orion off. “Do I need to remind you that your star shard was also stolen?”

“What I was going to say is that those things are an issue, but a wide scale attack would be much more devastating.”

“The stellar barrier can only be traversed with my approval,” Sardinia said. “Any army would blocked from entering.”

Orion opened his mouth to counter that, but Shinkai spoke before him. “Armies don’t always come from other stars,” he said. 

Sardinia sighed. “Of course, I should have considered that before I spoke.”

“Things have calmed down in Lama since I took the throne,” he said. “But even though I am fighting for the peace and prosperity of Lama, there are still attempts on my life. Without Erin—“

He stopped as he saw Sardinia’s expression change.

“What?”

Sardinia chuckled softly behind the sleeve of his robe as he was known to do. “Speaking of Erin, I saw him this morning.”

“Yeah?” Orion huffed. Erin’s disappearance without a word annoyed him, but he wasn’t particularly worried.

“He asked me what kind of flowers we have here that could grow on Lama.”

“He’s trying to convince me to head home.”

Sardinia shook his head. “Tsk. Well, you can’t neglect your own people for my sake.”

“My generals are capable, I doubt there will be any problem for me to stay a week or so.”

Shinkai muttered something and pushed his glasses higher onto his nose. “My king wishes not to worry you,” he said. “But there is a reason he hopes you’d be persuaded to leave.”

“Shinkai—“

Sardinia’s tone was terse, but Shinkai continued.

“I had a dream. In my dream, I saw you, King Orion, sinking into the deepest, darkest blue.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Orion groaned. “I think I grasp the basics of how to swim now, but I’d rather not test my skill just yet.”

“And my king has pulled the card, Death.”

“Death?” Orion spat. “Didn’t you feel that was important to warn me about?”

Sardinia turned his nose up in an indignant manner and fanned himself. “You don’t understand the cards. It doesn’t mean that anyone will die. Death symbolizes the end of an old phase, and a new beginning. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you, you’ll get all the wrong ideas.” 

“Still sounds pretty ominous to me.”

“I think it means that the era of isolation will end, and we will move into a new direction with the rest of this star system as allies.”

“Couldn’t it mean an end of the era of peace you have here in Sirena?”

“I doubt that.”

Shinkai shrugged. “It could mean that our situation can turn either way, depending on what path we choose.”

Orion scratched his head. This sort of thing have him a headache. “Yeah? I’ll leave the divination to you two, and you can leave the tactics to me.”

“Agreed.”

“For now, let’s wait for Erin to come back and see what information he’s dug up.”

—-

Erin saw a planter full of fuchsia hanging like painted lanterns and his eyes lit up. Orion didn’t have anything like that.

“Hey mister,” he asked. “How do you grow this?”

The shop keeper gave him a look before answering. It wasn’t anything hostile, but just a mild sort of shock. In his Lama clothes, he’d been getting that look all day.

“Well, it grows in rainy regions,” he said. “Say, aren’t you from another star?”

“I am, and it’s quite rainy there, but also cold.”

“Then if you want to take it home you might have a problem, you have to be careful to bring it inside when the frost comes overnight.”

“I see. Lama does freeze over for a few months a year, but maybe I could put it in the greenhouse.”

“Lama?”

“Ah, you seem surprised. Did you hear we’re warlike and violent?”

The old man shrugged. “If you like flowers, you can’t be too bad.”

Erin laughed. “I like you. It’s true, my king loves flowers!”

“King Orion? They say he never smiles.”

“And that he’d lop off your head for disrespect, right? That’s just a joke. My king is very kind, and he loves flowers. I’m looking to find which species would prosper on our weather.”

The elderly man began to seem a bit nervous, but he laughed all the same. “I have some calendulas that might work for you.”

Erin was shown a potted flower with happy orange flowers. “Ah, it’s cute! I’ll take this one.”

As the shopkeeper began to wrap up the potted calendula, Erin stopped talking. He hoped the man would say something to fill the conversation.

He was right. “How many of you from Lama are there around?”

“Only two,” he said. “We’re on a diplomatic mission.”

“Huh. Maybe I’m just getting old, but it seems I’ve been seeing more and more unfamiliar faces as of late. And with that fight that broke out on the east side of town last week, I’ve got no idea what the world is coming to.”

“Oh yeah?” Erin grinned. “Could you tell me more about it?”

—-

Erin had only slept a wink, but he was bustling with energy. The excitement of a new lead ignited his senses.

Sirena was an isolationist state, and that made his job much easier. Anyone who came here from another star would be restricted to just a few ships coming in from just one port. Without any knowledge of the culture, they’d stick out to any local just as badly as he did in his Lama uniform.

It made planting information much easier as well. He could tell the locals anything he wanted about Lama or King Orion, and they’d spread the rumors over miles before the day was out.

As good as he was at assassination, he was even better at this part of the job.

He supposed Orion would be missing him by nightfall, and returned to the palace with a potted calendula.

—- 

By nightfall, Orion was pleased to see Sardinia had followed through on his suggestions and had found a secure room to discuss sensitive topics.

It had been a storage room once upon a time, but it was large enough to set up a table, and the walls and the door were thick enough to muffle any sound. 

He joined Sardinia there along with Shinkai. As predicted, Erin showed up at just that time.

“Have you had a productive day?” Orion asked him.

Erin was smiling at him as he approached from the end of the hall. “King, I found a pretty flower that likes colder weather!”

He held up a bright golden flower potted in a small container. The cheerful color managed to put a smile on Orion’s face in spite of himself. 

“You know there’s more important things to worry about.”

“I found it while I was snooping,” Erin said. “I can do both at once.”

Orion was left holding the flowers. “Come on, Sardinia is waiting. What am I supposed to do with this?”

“You should just hold it,” Erin said. “I think it’ll increase your charm if you do.”

He decided it would be better to endure this minor embarrassment than waste more time.

A guard let them pass through the heavy oak door into the room. It was the only place in Sirena that Orion had ever felt claustrophobic in, with no windows and only the one door.

Having been a storage room, it was sparse, with only a table at the center and a few plush chairs that had been carried in from another room.

Sardinia was seated along with hot Shinkai. He looked up as they entered and smiled.

“Erin, I see you found a nice flower.”

“I did!” Erin grinned.

Orion set the potted plant on the table and tried to ignore it. “Well don’t waste more of our time, Erin. Did you find anything today?”

“I learned quite a bit. First of all, the townsfolk don’t seem to know that Orion was involved in the attack at the pier, but hey do suspect that the violence was started by foreigners.”

“They’re not wrong,” Orion sighed. 

Sardinia hummed in agreement. He was still playing with his fan even though there wasn’t any sun or breeze in this closed off room. “We have our own problems with crime, but there’s not been such a violent incident in years.”

Erin nodded. “The people of Sirena seem happy and not interested in pointing fingers, although there is a general sense of anxiety surrounding the increasing trade with other stars.”

Sardinia’s face was hard to read at moments like this. He seemed disappointed by the news, but he was weathering it well, his expression neutral. “We have everything we need here on Sirena, so it’s difficult to convince my people that there is any benefit to exchanging with your worlds. Especially after such a violent incident.”

Shinkai shrugged. “Lama’s steel doesn’t need to be used for weaponry,” he said. “You should try exporting kitchen knives and razors.”

“Of course we can trade things like that too,” Orion huffed. “Your people seem to think I’m some kind of war monger.”

Sardinia smiled and his eyes glittered with a hint of mischief. “Perhaps we could help with that,” he said. “It’s not impossible to improve your image. Your face can be quite handsome when you aren’t frowning.”

“We came here to talk about the assassination attempt, not my face!” Orion realized too late that he’d let Sardinia provoke him into raising his voice. The door was thick, but it wasn’t sound proofed. 

Erin put a finger to his lip in thought. “I get the feeling that the attack on us wasn’t all that well planned,” he said. “It was hastily put together when they saw a moment of opportunity. Which means I think their original goal may not have been to assassinate Orion, but they saw the opportunity to cause an international incident and they took it. Their real goal may be to destabilize Sirena’s peaceful society. Whether it was King Orion, or Fang, or anyone else, a star leader’s murder would spark hostilities and undermine Sardinia as a leader.”

“I see,” Sardinia said. “If they’ve only begun to trickle in since the star shard incident, there can’t be too many of them.”

“I suggest we give them a bigger opportunity,” Erin said, dropping his voice so low that even the guard outside the door wouldn’t hear him. “Let’s announce King Orion and King Sardinia’s presence at a future event, in a public location with plenty of openings. If they take the bait, they will certainly attack with everyone they have.”

Sardinia frowned. “If it’s in public, it could put civilians in danger.”

Erin shook his head. “We’ll disguise your soldiers as civilians, and actually have three times the amount of security as we appear to have.”

“Hm.” Orion nodded. “Erin and I have executed operations like this before with success.”

“Did you have casualties?”

“Sometimes, yes,” Orion said. Erin gave him an annoyed look, but he refused to give Sardinia a false impression. There was danger any time you pulled something like this and he needed to understand. “The reality is, all of your citizens are at risk as long as those people are out there.”

“That’s true,” Sardinia said with a resigned sigh. “Actually, there’s an event I was hoping you might attend, Orion. I thought of it when I was working out how we might improve your image.”

“What is it?”

“Every year, there’s a play performed in the city square. It’s a legend about the merfolk that were thought by our anscestors to live beneath the lakes and seas. Because of my skill with hydromancy, I always play the part of the mermaid.”

Orion thought of Sardinia under the water with a fish’s tail. The image was fitting for him, but underwater was no place for a soldier from Lama. “How would I figure into this?”

“The legend goes that a brave prince from the land dove into the darkest pool and awakened the mermaid from her slumber. Their love united the people of the land and the sea. Since you seem to be coming along at swimming, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to show everyone a more romantic side of you.”

“That sounds really fun!” Erin laughed. “Let’s do it, King.”

“But the mermaid I’m supposed to fall in love with is you?” He scoffed. “I’m not _that_ good at acting.”

That earned him another scowl from Erin. “You aren’t good at all.”


	5. Killer Look

There was a road that ran through the capital city’s center. It began at the palace of Sirena’s front gate at the north end of town, and split the east and west sides evenly except for one space in the center.

In the middle of the city where all the major roads met, there was a plot of land set aside as a park. It was circular and about a mile across at the diameter.

Orion had never seen such a large amount of land set aside for amusement and leisure. “How wasteful,” he said. “Sirenians do everything in excess, don’t they?”

But then they began to walk.

Winding paths trailed through lush greenery. There were so many varieties of flowering plant, he could have spent days lost there. 

“Suddenly you don’t seem so bothered by it,” Erin teased. “You are so easily swayed.”

Orion held his chin up. “A good leader should be willing to admit when he’s wrong,” he said. “A park like this seems like a good idea for Lama.”

“You just want an excuse to plant more flowers.”

“Not for my own sake,” Orion said. “Flowers shouldn’t be kept in private gardens as a symbol of the wealthy and powerful. The flowers I love don’t exist only for my sake because I am a king. Sirena’s royalty has managed to make them into a public work, and such a thing is admirable.”

Erin smiled at him. In the light filtered through the branches of leafy trees, his eyes gleamed as he gave Orion a soft look. “You’re right. I think it would make a lot of people smile.” 

Orion cleared his throat and continued down the path ahead of Erin. “It does have tactical disadvantages.”

“No joke,” Erin said with a sigh. “An enemy using guerrilla tactics in this setting would be a nightmare.”

They followed the path to the south side of the park where a grand theatre sat between the park and the south side of town. 

“Now this,” Orion sighed. “This, I would call extravagant.”

It was a building standing in a half circle with three tiers so that a select few could watch from seats high above the crowd on either side. However, the most direct point of view belonged to any common folk who chose to stand in the large area in front. Thousands of people could potentially gather there.

“Exposure is the point here,” Erin said. “You’re bait this time, remember?”

“I can’t believe I am going through with this farce.”

They approached and wove their way to the back.

Sardinia was behind the stage, watching as his attendants and theatre production staff scurried about. His guards stood silently around him watching for any sign of trouble. 

“I hope you have been studying your lines,” Sardinia said as they approached. “We only have a few opportunities for practice.”

Orion wished there were even fewer practices on stage. It was embarrassing enough acting in front of so many people, but the underwater scene... 

He considered backing down every time he thought about it. 

“Well, Sardinia, should we get started?”

“You sound so loathe to do so.”

“Well, the sooner we get started, the sooner it’ll be over.”

“You should go on without me.”

“Why? You have a lot of scenes to do.”

Sardinia smiled. “I’ve spoke to Erin about it,” he said. “We’ve decided that he should act as my decoy.”

Orion turned to find Erin with the same stupid smirk on his face as Sardinia was wearing. “Sardinia and I look alike enough,” he said. “This way, Sardinia won’t be in any danger.”

“Erin, how are you going to be on the lookout for spies if you’re acting in the play?”

“I think it’ll give me the best vantage point!”

Orion groaned. In the end, at least he wouldn’t have to act along with Sardinia.

“You need to practice the water scene especially,” Sardinia said. His mouth curled into a smile and his eyes narrowed at Orion like a cat’s. “You need to be able to make the kiss look convincing as possible, okay?”

“Kiss?” Orion didn’t realize how loud his voice was until one of Sardinia’s guards turned and looked at him. He could praise the guard for sensing his hostility, but he was too embarrassed to think about it. “There wasn’t anything about that in the script.”

“Ah, you didn’t receive my rewrites?” Sardinia hid his annoying smile behind the edge of his fan. “In order to make you personable to my people, I have written a few new elements that will take advantages of your wonderful expressions.”

“You did what?”

“It’s okay!” Erin interjected, just as Orion thought he could wring Sardinia’s pretty little neck. “Really, it’s just me so you don’t have to really kiss me—“

Sardinia scowled at Erin. It was rare someone else was on the receiving end of his ire. “The whole point is to make it convincing,” he said. “That’s what we talked about. Right?”

“It will be, when we perform for real! I promise. But don’t push my king too much during practice. Try to bend him too much and he’ll snap.”

Orion was at a loss. It was almost as if the two were having their own conversation about something else entirely.

Regardless the reason, Sardinia accepted Erin’s suggestion and snapped his fan. “All right, I assume you know him best.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

He went on. “I’ll be backstage to control the water. It’ll be perfectly safe. Just practice holding your breath.”

—-

For the most part, Orion’s scenes were easy. 

As much as he hated to admit he was getting into the whole affair, he found himself relating to his character, the prince of the earth kingdom. He was a man who had realized he was hurting innocent people simply by existing in such a way that he had always believed was right. 

The director said his performance was “raw,” whatever that meant.

Sardinia hovered around and gave pointers like he was the real director. “King Orion, every expression you make is truly entrancing.” It was difficult to tell of he was joking. “If only you wouldn’t scowl so much when you’re just standing around.”

“It’s his neutral face,” Erin laughed. 

—-

Erin took well to acting, although that came as no shock. He somehow managed to impersonate Sardinia and play his role as the underwater princess with such a convincing nuance that it was eerie.

Still, there was little Erin could ever do that would surprise him.

—-

They had run through the bulk of the play, and it came time for the scene Orion was dreading

He began to understand Shinkai’s warning of “deep, dark blue.”

When they told him that some scenes were underwater, he imagined some sort of aquarium, like a pool that you could look into and see the people swimming around in.

What they expected him to swim into was a large floating orb of water held together and levitating off the stage thanks to Sardinia’s powers of hydromancy. There were toy fish props and bits of seaweed floating around inside like a gigantic snow globe.

Because this particular scene required a certain mood, they had added blue dye to the water to give it a dark and murky appearance. 

Even though he could see the edges of the water clearly, seeing Erin floating inside of it was enough to bring back the memory of sinking, cold, feeling that he would die with Erin in his arms.

That was a fear he was determined to overcome by learning to swim, and well enough so that he could drag Erin out of the water on his own if the need ever came again.

He jumped in, and the water took him. It moved under Sardinia’s control to help Orion reach Erin, holding his breath and waiting at the bottom.

Erin kept his eyes open. He smiled.  
He must have known how it made Orion feel to see him floating like he were dead. Orion had never been so happy to see Erin stick his tongue out at him.

He didn’t have to perform a kissing scene today. He just needed to swim to the bottom to test if he could do it, to see if he could hold his breath long enough.

But once he reached Erin and touched his face, he couldn’t deny a part of him that wanted to do it.

Erin reached up with two fingers and stuck one into each of his nostrils. He coughed and sputtered, snorting water, and was not entirely convinced in that moment that Erin wasn’t still trying to kill him.

The bubble released, dropping them in a splash onto the stage, where they both received a angry lecture from Sardinia.

—-

More practice went on, and every time that scene came, Erin would do something to make Orion laugh or almost die (or both).

Orion never had to worry about the image of him close to death, or what the touch of his lips might make him feel.

After just a week, the first real performance was scheduled to begin. Orion found himself hoping their enemies would strike on opening night  
so that he wouldn’t need to repeat this indignity a second or third time.

He dressed in his regalia, which Sardinia had prodded him to wear. _The Star of Steel’s image suits this story, don’t you think?_ he had said.

He waited back stage, afraid to look beyond the curtains at how many people had arrived. He could hear them—the murmur of so many hundreds of people waiting in anticipation. It reminded him of his first appearance as king, with Erin standing by his side to deflect any assassin’s bolts or angry mob’s stones.

“Are you quite ready, King Orion?”

The tone of that voice was a perfect impression of Sardinia. It might have even fooled him had he not known Erin so well.

He turned to find Erin in Sardinia’s costume, his bright red hair tucked under a pale wig. He was the same height and age as Sardinia, and they both had youthful faces. The robes that usually covered Sardinia from neck to ankle obscured the lean muscle on Erin that would have set them apart. Even one of Sardinia’s attendants might be fooled if they weren’t looking hard enough.

What struck Orion immediately were Erin’s eyes. Although both had red eyes, Erin’s were bright like fire. Orion would never have mistaken him for anyone else.

“Don’t tell me I fooled you,” Erin said, and smacked Orion in the shoulder with his folded fan. 

“Of course not, what makes you think I would?”

Erin narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You were staring.”

“I’m staring because it looks weird on you.” 

The Sirenian style clothing had always suited Erin in an unexpected way. Although Orion preferred the austere black and gold of Lama, Sirena’s flowing garments and delicate trims had a certain fragility to them that complimented Erin’s deadly nature by contrast. It difficult not to stare when faced with such a beautiful contradiction.

Erin responded with an indignant snort as he crossed his arms. He wouldn’t be mistaken for Sardinia by anyone with that posture. “Whatever. From the audience, no one will be able to tell.”

“It’s convincing, I just know you too well.”

Erin’s expression brightened at at that. His eyes glittered with mischief. Orion knew that _look_ too well, too. “Maybe you’re disappointed you don’t get to smooch the real Sardinia?” 

Orion stopped himself from gagging. “Please. It’s bad enough that it’s you.”

“ _Bad enough_?” Erin pouted until his cheeks were flushed and hiked his arms up on his hips in an aggressive stance. “Well gee, I’m sorry it’s such an ordeal for you.”

Orion groaned. “I meant—what I meant was...” As found himself floundering for words, he realized how difficult it was to describe what was making him anxious at that moment. 

“It’s much easier if it’s you, but I’m still nervous,” Orion said. “For those of us from Lama it is more of a personal thing than I think these carefree Sirenians would understand. I thought you had realized that. Why else would you have been joking like that at every practice?”

Erin’s anger dissipated into a sigh. He smiled again and Orion remembered how rare it was to see him smile without any mischief or malice behind it, to smile just because he was happy. 

He wondered if Erin know how dangerous that smile was, how utterly it could disarm him.

He felt Erin’s hand land on his chest and didn’t put it together when his fingers curled around the cord hanging from his epaulette. 

He was still clueless when Erin lifted himself up on his toes to close the distance in height between them.

It wasn’t until he felt Erin’s lips against his mouth that it dawned on him. His vision was filled with Erin’s closed eyes. His inward breath was nothing but Erin’s smell and his warmth. 

As abruptly as he had moved in, Erin pulled away and stood flat on his feet. He laughed softly at Orion’s face, burning red and frozen in shock. “See, it isn’t a big deal,” he said. “There’s nothing to be nervous ab—“

Orion pulled him back into the kiss. He hadn’t heard a word. All he could feel was the overwhelming need to have him close again.

Erin made a muffled squeak as Orion’s hand fumbled at his waist to pull him closer. 

He didn’t intend to be so forceful—he hadn’t intended anything about this, as was apparent by his awkward posture and the clack of their teeth striking together.

Erin exhaled through his nose, blowing a hot breath of air against Orion’s face, and relaxed into him until everything about him was as soft as his lips were. With Erin flush against his chest, Orion could feel his heart beating fast. 

To think that Erin’s heart beat for his touch and his kiss made his body tremble.

He wanted to be the only one with Erin, and to have only him. The anxious crowd, the orchestra tuning their instruments, and stage hands bustling about may as well have ceased to exist.

Erin broke the kiss with a gasp as footsteps approached. An attendant turned the corner. 

“King Orion,” she said, bowing. “You’re needed at the staging area.” 

He still had his hand on Erin’s shoulder, and both were flushed in the face. Obvious. Either she hadn’t caught it, or was being very polite.

“Right.” 

He squeezed Erin’s shoulder before letting him go. It was all he could do to try and communicate where words would had failed him, had he even the courage or the strength to say them in front of so many strangers. 

As he was ushered away by attendants and stage hands, he took a last look at Erin over his shoulder. He caught him pressing the tips of his fingers against his lips as of to hold onto the touch of his kiss, or maybe to verified that it had even happened.

He wondered if Erin knew how good an assassin he really was, to have the king of Lama willing to die for him with just a look.


	6. Dark Blue

Erin’s lips were still warm from Orion’s kiss as he waited backstage for his cue. A stage hand called for him twice before he realized he was being spoken to, snapping his head up like he’d just woken from a dream.

“Wake up, Erin,” he chided himself and slapped his cheeks to snap himself out of it. He had to stay alert. Enemies could be anywhere, that was the point of all of this. He had the protect his king above all else. 

Orion’s kiss had been brash and earnest, as was everything about him. That’s all it was, right? King Orion was just being impulsive as always.

He peeked through the curtain to see Orion out on stage waving his prop sword. He insisted on performing proper swordsmanship in the fight scenes, whether it was real or not. The Sirenians had never seen such a display and clapped for him.

The stupid man broke character and waved to the audience with a smile. Women swooned. Erin sighed and clapped a hand to his forehead. “What an idiot.”

Sardinia wasn’t wrong, though. If Orion would just smile, people across the stars would rally to his side.

After all, it was thanks to his stupid trustful nature that he’d earned Erin’s undying loyalty. If he could sway Erin, he could convince anyone.

Erin remembered that night fondly. The only assassination mission he’d ever failed.

He felt his cheeks warm up while thinking about Orion holding him down in a tight lock the way he had that night. He slapped himself again.

Orion said his lines loud and passionately. He would protect the ocean princess and her people, even if it meant defying his father, the king.

Orion wearing his Lama colors on stage and making bold declarations like that brought back memories. Erin couldn’t say they were good—memories of battles and attempts on Orion’s life—but he looked back on them fondly now because of what they’d accomplished in the end. Because he’d been by Orion’s side.

“Your first scene will begin soon,” a stage hand said. 

Erin closed the small slit in the curtain and followed her to his staging point.

He could still hear Orion’s voice ringing out through the auditorium and the park behind it. 

Orion could be the hero of a play someday. When that happened, there’d be no side note of the assassin who protected him from the shadows. 

Erin would protect the king’s passionate fire from being snuffed out until the day his light was strong enough to illuminate all the stars. Then he, no longer needed, would vanish into the darkness and be forgotten by time. 

It was his turn to stand on the stage. The setting sun shone in his face and he squinted before his eyes focused and beheld the true scope of the audience, thousands of faces filling the park all around them.

For a moment, he had almost forgotten that he was posing as Sardinia. The people cheered even louder than they had for Orion when he appeared. They loved their king. Erin wished that Orion could receive such an ovation from his own people someday. 

He waited for their applause to ebb before saying his line.

Orion was smiling at him.

“You mustn’t give your heart to me, my king,” he said. 

Orion balked. Erin quickly corrected himself. “Ah, my _prince_.” No one noticed, but Orion was gritting his teeth. _Oops._ “For you and I are of different worlds, and can never live side by side.”

“Then I’ll love you from afar like a worshipper to his goddess,” he said. His performance was genuine and heartfelt in spite of the hackneyed lines. These Sirenians seemed to be eating it up.

Erin felt hot under the gaze of Orion’s silver eyes brimming with passion—looking deep into him, meaning so much more than what anyone else could know. _Get a hold of yourself._ Oh shit, what was the line? 

“They say I am capricious like the sea,” he said. “Even if you give yourself to me, I may love another by the next full moon.”

“Even if you wax and wane like the moon, my love will be as constant as the sun rising each day in the east.”

Erin did his very best Sardinia, waving his hand and letting sarcasm drip from his voice. “The sun cannot shine on only one heart, my prince.”

He felt this princess must not be very good at playing hard to get. Although, with a handsome prince ready to worship you, perhaps it was better not to try so hard.

“Aye, you speak the truth—I would love your people as I love you, and I would protect them with all of my strength.”

“Then I would love your people as I love you, and I would protect them until my last breath.”

“So let the sun and the moon,”

“And the earth and the sea,”

They recited the last part together. “Become one, with our hearts.”

Erin thought Sardinia had made a good call adding a kiss at the end, since as it was, the romance was pretty dry. 

Here they were standing on opposite sides of the stage, like these star-crossed lovers couldn’t even take a few steps to the left or the right.

To love someone from another world was much harder than that.

***

As the lead, Orion had the most scenes of anyone, and was rarely backstage to rest.

And during those scenes where he got to take a breath, Erin was on stage as the princess—or more like as Sardinia. The impression was uncanny.

It almost made him forget that it was Erin. And that he’d kissed Erin. Rather passionately at that.

The sun had set and the stage lights were lit as they moved into the third act where the princess would go into a deep magical sleep to save her prince and the people of both lands.

He wasn’t too familiar with this play, but it seemed as if Sardinia had written in a happier ending where a kiss of love would save the day, and the prince and princess would love happily together amongst their people.

He liked it better that way. Maybe it was childish, but Orion was a simple man and he wasn’t much for tragic endings. 

The time finally came for the underwater scene where he’d kiss Erin in front of what seemed like thousands of people.

Whether or not Erin’s intention had been to help him relax or just to tease him; thanks to his thoughtless kiss, he was feeling completely the opposite. The thought of kissing him again made his heart race.

Some things were better thoughtless.

“Remember to hold your breath,” came a soft voice. The actual Sardinia approached, dressed in a stage hand’s garments. He winked at Orion.

Since the stage hands dressed all in black as so to avoid attention, it seemed as if he and Erin had traded roles completely. When Orion saw someone dressed head to foot in black, he thought _assassin_. It set him on edge.

“Haven’t you got other hydromancers to do this kind of work for you?” 

“I’ll do it because I’m the best,” he said with unfaltering confidence. “Now, go jump in and give us a good show.”

He didn’t enjoy Sardinia’s preoccupation with tantalizing the audience. Not only was it exploiting a private moment between him and Erin, but he seemed to forget the danger all of them were potentially in.

He groaned. “Can I see Erin first?”

“Erin’s already in his position beneath, and you’ve got to get to the top.”

“Ugh, fine.”

That was as good as any reason to cut his conversation with Sardinia short. He ascended the rig that would lead him to the upper level, where he would dive in, just like in practice.

But this time, Erin wouldn’t pinch his nose or stick out his tongue. 

Maybe he could just pretend he was waking Erin up from a nap. He closed his eyes and imagined kissing Erin again, seeing his eyes open with a warm smile just for him. That thought helped him push through whatever anxiety was holding him back.

He stood at the top of the rig and waited for his cue. With Sardinia’s magic, the orb of water took shape. The crowd murmured with amazement at the feat, and waited with baited breath to see if the prince would succeed in waking his princess.

Erin’s body floated up from beneath, with sparkling bubbles and colorful fish. Sardinia’s many layers of robes flowed around him like the lace skirts of a jellyfish.

Orion took a deep breath and jumped in.

As he thought, Erin didn’t move. He was playing the role of the sleeping princess. But he was okay. He was just playing the role. He’d open his eyes, and then all this would be over.

Orion swam down to meet him. At least the water wasn’t cold, it was actually quite warm for the actors’ comfort. He could feel Sardinia’s hydromancy pushing him along, which came as a strange kind of comfort. Just knowing that he was there, and that he had a friend on this star besides Erin. 

Down, down, into the dark blue.

He could see Erin’s face. The pale wig didn’t suit him, but he was beautiful in Sardinia’s silks and jewels.

He was close. He reached his hand out to touch Erin’s face.

As he pushed, something pushed back. He couldn’t touch Erin. The water didn’t part for him. He could still feel Sardinia helping him, but something else was blocking his way.

A terrible thought entered his mind. _Could the assassins have a damn hydromancer on their side?_. 

He looked around himself. With the murky water and the lighting, he couldn’t make out much movement outside the sphere. The sounds were muffled, but there was a distinct cry of alarm.

Erin sensed the disturbance and opened his eyes. He tried swimming up to Orion, but the same force pushed him away.

Orion began to stroke with all his might in the way Sardinia had taught him. He felt Sardinia’s help. Then, that other force, instead of pushing against him was pulling. He saw Erin’s eyes go wide as he realized what was happening.

Sardinia’s power was holding him still, resisting the pull. But all Orion wanted to do was swim to Erin. _Damn it, let me go!_

Erin reached out his hand. He was paddling against the pulling force as hard as he could.

Orion swore he felt a brush of Erin’s fingers against his as their hands almost grabbed each other, but it wasn’t enough.

The sphere of water had elongated into a ribbon that stretched across the crowd, tortured and fluxing in shape. The audience was split between anticipation and fear, unsure whether this was all part of the show.

“Let me go!” He shouted into the water as Erin was swept farther and farther away, until the water was split into two parts.

Yelling only made it worse. He couldn’t hold his breath much longer. 

He felt himself crashing against the stage floor as the hundreds of gallons of water fell all around him.

—-

The next few minutes were a blur.

He heard the crowd screaming and voices trying to shout over the noise to please remain calm.

He pushed himself off the ground, his costume soaked and heavy.

Sardinia stood on stage next to him, still wearing his stage hand’s uniform. He was looking into the distance.

There was a path through the crowd where water had soaked the ground. It disappeared into the city streets. It seemed apparent that whoever had been struggling with Sardinia for control over the orb of water had managed to pull Erin from it, and dragged him away. In the chaos, they’d disappeared into the aqueducts beneath the city.

He grabbed Sardinia by the front of his stupid strange hand’s outfit. “Why did you stop me?”

Sardinia didn’t fight back, and instead glared at him. “Their hydromancer was almost as skilled as I am. I was only powerful enough to only save one of you.”

“Then save Erin!” Orion shouted. 

At this point, Shinkai and several of Sardinia’s guards and attendants gathered around. 

Orion released him. 

“I did what Erin would have wanted,” Sardinia said. “Protect the King of Lama.”

“There is no king if Erin dies,” he said, and clutched Sardinia’s shirt again. This time he sunk to his knees. “Don’t you understand I’m nothing without him?”

He should have heeded Erin’s advice and left this star. It was his fault. It was always his fault that Erin was injured or put into danger, because he was too naive and stupid to watch out for himself.

He felt the weight of Sardinia’s hand lay gently onto his head. “Don’t despair,” he said. “We have a few leads. It isn’t easy to drag a man trapped in water across a crowd of thousands without someone seeing something.”

“And my lord is one of only a handful of hydromancy experts with that level of skill,” Shinkai added. “We have a good idea of who the perpetrator must be.”

“I don’t care who they are,” Gaku growled and stood again. At his full height, he towered over Sardinia and Shinkai both. “When I find them, I’ll tear them apart.”

Sardinia looked up at him and paused, not in fear, but with a reasonable amount of trepidation. “Change into something dry,” he said. “Shinkai, bring King Orion’s sword to him.”

“As you wish.” Shinkai could move quickly when he was called to do so. He was gone in a blink.

Orion stepped behind stage and began to strip out of his wet coat and waterlogged boots. Sardinia watched him. “What are you going to do?” 

Sardinia smiled. “I’ll help you get Erin back.”

“This isn’t a game or a show,” he said. “You’ll only put yourself in danger if you come along.”

“You won’t last very long without me,” he said. “And, I can take care of myself.”

Orion had to admit that he didn’t know the city, let alone its underground network of aqueducts, very well. 

“Fine.”

Sardinia smiled as he slipped a dagger from his blouse. It was a distinctive steel with black coating. 

“That’s one of Erin’s,” Orion said. “Do you know how to use it?”

“Since I taught him to swim, he gave me a few lessons, too.”

Orion groaned. “Now you’re both equally as scary as the other.”

Before he could say something snarky in response, Shinkai returned with Orion’s sword in his arms. “The guard’s Captain has a location,” he said.

“Then, lets go.” He waved his arm to Orion to follow. “We have to save your sea princess.”


	7. Rain

Erin managed to stay conscious through the ordeal. He’d practiced holding his breath and had gotten down to two minutes solid. That much time must have passed before the bubble burst, because he could feel his body revolt and had to concentrate down to his core to stop himself from inhaling water. Fortunately he was only tested for a few more seconds before the ball of water released.

He was sure that Sardinia, like most people on the star of water, could hold his breath much longer than that, and so his kidnappers might have accidentally killed him by assuming that he was him.

They dragged him down into some sort of drainage system. Erin had used the sewers of Lama to his advantage a few times in his work, and the aqueducts of Sirena were not nearly as putrid and grimy as those. The water flowed through, perpetually cleansing the city streets of sludge and waste.

There were three people. First was a large man he assumed was Bestian, although it was difficult to tell unless he gave his ears away. He had to hunch over to fit in the aqueducts. 

The other two were a woman and a younger man, both dressed like Sirenians, but the boy had such a dark tan that Erin wondered if he hailed from Eterno.

He had a choice here. He could fight off these three, but he may not win. His body was weak from having held his breath past his limit, and if the largest of those three was a Bestian as he thought, there was no telling what kind of strength and speed he could possess. 

But waiting would be just as dangerous. Once they bound him up, he might not be able to escape. And when they discovered that he wasn’t actually Sardinia, they might kill him on the spot. 

The only certainty for him was that Orion was blazing through the city to find him and would catch up at any moment. That, at least, was sure as the sun rises.

Erin pretended to black out. 

The larger man spoke. “You were supposed to get the king of Lama.”

“I had to improvise,” the woman said. “This stupid child decided to protect King Orion rather than himself.”

Erin made a mental note to thank Sardinia for that later on. He was sure that otherwise, Orion would have been captured.

“A noble act, but a stupid one,” the large man said.

“That’s why he isn’t fit to be king.”

The youngest of the group, the smaller man, circled around and checked his breathing. “He’s not drowned, he must have passed out from shock.”

“Weakling. Tie him up.”

The idiot didn’t check him for weapons first. He handled him gently, and the ropes had a little slack to them even after his arms were bound behind his back and his ankles were tied together.

Maybe he was a Sirenian with too much respect for his king to get the job done. Erin would have laughed if he wasn’t busy playing dead. 

“Careful,” he said, speaking up as the larger man hoisted Erin up onto his shoulder. “Keep his head elevated, and don’t hold him so tightly.”

A doctor? Or someone with medical training. That would explain his concern.

“You don’t know what this little brat can do,” the woman said. “I’ve been practicing my arts for longer than he’s been alive and yet he can best me easily. He’s dangerous.”

So then she was the hydromancer, good to know.

“Come on,” the big guy said. “We have to move fast or they’ll spot us.”

He moved swiftly through the aqueduct with Erin over his shoulder even though the space was half his height. It was safe to assume he was a Bestian, and that his beast power was formidable.

He pulled him down a tube that was even smaller than the aqueduct. Erin wasn’t sure if Orion would notice it, so he left a sign for him—

A small throwing dagger slipped free of his sleeve. The sound of his kidnappers sloshing through the water muffled the clank it made as it hit the stone. 

—-

“The two of you are about to get a crash course in special tactics,” Orion said, leading Shinkai and Sardinia along with a unit of Sardinia’s royal soldiers. “Stay behind me, and keep your eyes open.”

The bulk of Sardinia’s forces were spent handling the crowd, keeping them calm and helping them to move efficiently to safe areas. It was a good thing they’d planted men in street clothes and taken every extra precaution Erin had suggested.

As Orion followed the trail, he overheard such complaints as “but how will I know how the story ended?” As if that was the worst fate a Sirenian could imagine.

“Here,” Shinkai said, and handed Orion a map. “The aqueducts are connected at these points, so travel to any side of town is possible. We’ve dispatched soldiers to cover every access point, so they won’t be able to come up by normal means.”

Orion looked over the map. From the park in the center, it was equally distant to any exit. “Are there any routes out of the city, or undocumented spaces down there?”

Sardinia furrowed his brow. “Yes.”

Orion snapped back at him. “Well, could you elaborate?”

“The city is built atop an ancient shrine,” he said. “The foundations are sturdy, but most of it is submerged.”

“Most of it,” Orion said. “So not all of it.”

“Its possible that our enemies found a serviceable pocket of the ruins to hide out in, but the conditions are highly unstable. It has been off limits for decades due to the danger.”

“And,” Shinkai said, pushing his glasses up onto his nose. “It’s going to rain.”

Orion hadn’t noticed any rain clouds before the sun set, but if Shinkai said it, then he didn’t doubt it. 

They reached the porthole that led into the aqueducts. A soldier had pulled it open for them. Seeing that it was only about fifteen feet deep, he skipped waiting on a ladder and leapt down.

His boots hit the stone surface at the bottom with a splash. It was about ankle deep with flowing water. 

He looked up and saw Sardinia examining the sides, trying to figure it out. “Jump, I’ve got you,” he said.

Sardinia took a jump and landed in his arms. He was as light as Erin. Shinkai leapt down behind him, more athletic that he looked, after all.

Orion set Sardinia down. “Tell your guards to follow me,” he said. “I’m taking the point, and I want you two close to me, but the more manpower we have behind us, the better.”

Shinkai lit a lantern and held it up. Orion would have to stoop in order to walk through, but there were no major obstructions. It wasn’t the time for him to be marveling at Sirena’s underground waterworks, but they were as impressive as he would have assumed from the star of water.

“Hope you’re in shape,” he said, as he began to sprint through the sewer, sloshing water as he went. 

The water parted in front of his feet as Sardinia caught up and ran beside him, nimble as one might expect. Without the added resistance, they could move fast and without making as much noise.

“Cute,” Orion said. “Can you keep using your powers like that indefinitely?”

“Something simple like this, of course.”

As they ran past a hole in the side wall, Orion caught something glinting. He stopped short and reached inside.

“Erin’s dagger,” he said, holding it up to the lantern’s light. 

Shinkai shone the light into the hole. It was a tube barely wide enough to slide through. At the end of it seemed to be another metallic glint just under the water. 

Sardinia sighed. “Erin seriously left us a breadcrumb trail of knives?”

“Hurry,” Orion commanded. All he knew was that it meant Erin was still alive and conscious. “Send your men down the other passages just in case they scattered. We’ll take this path and find Erin.”

“What if he runs out?” Sardinia asked. “What’s he going to fight with?”

Orion chuckled. “Erin will want for a knife when Sirena is dry and it’s snowing on Eterno.”

“Sorry I asked.”

—-

Erin had no idea where they were dragging him off to. The sun had set some time ago, so there was no way to tell by light if they were close to the surface.

Since the city was on top of the lake, he began to wonder if there was earth underneath or if they’d hit water if they kept going deeper.

The woman led the group with a dim light in her hand. They didn’t want to be spotted, but otherwise the tunnels were pitch black and couldn’t be traveled even for someone who knew them well as she seemed to.

She was an older woman, but no less quick on her feet. Her Sirenian clothing was not as exquisite as Sardinia’s, but it was a great deal more expensive looking than he’d seen any random townsperson wearing.

They were no longer walking through water. The space they were passing through was wide like a hall, but Erin hadn’t sensed them traveling upward back into the city.

He counted about eight minutes of travel, not far at all. Depending on which direction they headed, they may still be underneath the park. 

After a few more twists and turns, he had run out of the knives in his sleeves and had to shake the ones in his pockets loose.

“I think he’s waking up,” the big guy said.

“We’re here,” said the woman. “Take him inside quickly and strap him down.”

They were definitely in some kind of structure, although it was dilapidated and vacant. It could even be ancient. 

They passed through an arc and into a larger chamber. Water dripped from cracks in the ceiling. Erin couldn’t get a good look while pretending to be unconscious, but there were hints of light coming through from above. He couldn’t tell if they were from far off street lights or if the moon was bright.

The only thing it proved for sure is that they were near the surface.

“Sit him down,” the woman said. She appeared to be the ring leader. “Tie him to the chair.”

They sat him in an old stone chair that must have once been some sort of throne. The bigger guy threaded a rope through the arm of it and tied his wrist down.

“What’s this?”

The woman put her hand in his hair and ripped the wig away. Erin winced. It had been secured with a lot of pins to keep it from coming off in the water scene.

“This isn’t Sardinia!”

The big guy grunted. “A decoy.”

“Damn that boy.” The woman growled and stomped her foot. “Whoever this is, let’s kill him and get out of here.”

“I didn’t agree to that!” The younger man said. 

“They killed half our men,” she barked back, providing Erin with a solid estimate of how many survivors there were. 

“I told you not to rush in and fight King Orion, he’s dangerous!”

“It doesn’t matter, just kill him.”

The larger man grumbled something, like he wasn’t fully on board with the plan, but moved toward Erin all the same. 

Erin figured this would be a good time to add to the conversation.

“Ah, not so fast,” he said, chuckling. They all looked up at him in surprise to see he had been awake the entire time. “You don’t even know who I am.”

“Why would that matter?” the woman asked. She seemed annoyed that the other two were not as keen on murdering him, although not so willing to do it herself. 

“I’m quite important to King Orion,” he said. “Precious, even. You could barter for my life.”

“Ransom you? Do you think this is about money?”

The big guy heaved a tired sigh. “We could barter ourselves a vessel off planet,” he said. “We could start over.”

“This is just another ruse,” she said. He had to give her that one, at least she didn’t seem stupid. But no one was moving to finish him off, and that was what Erin wanted.

They looked up at the sound of splashing. Three more people came in from somewhere, two men and a woman. 

“Ah, you guys are safe.” The younger man wasn’t getting this at all. From his relief, it was simple for Erin to see that there was no one else uncounted for out there. 

Six, including a hydromancer and at least one Bestian. Not good odds. 

“That’s the King’s man,” one of them said. “Bright red hair.”

Erin felt kind of proud of the fear on his face. 

“The assassin?” the woman’s eyes blinked wide. 

“Yeah. This little kid is responsible for the ascension of King Orion.”

Erin laughed. “And I helped save the world. You’re welcome.”

The woman grit her teeth. “He’s too dangerous, we’ve got to kill him now.”

“Good call, but...”. Erin grinned. He had already cut the bindings on his wrist. “A little late.”

—-

Orion stopped at the sound of voices. 

Sardinia opened his mouth. Orion clapped his hand over it and pulled him against the wall.

They were right above. Arguing.

Shinkai doused the lantern.

Sardinia shook him off, having got the idea. He wiggled his fingers and smiled as drops of water began to swirl around. He pointed up.

Orion saw an entrance up ahead. A floorboard had given way and he could climb up into the stone chamber.

He needed a distraction. Sardinia winked. He nodded and drew his sword.

It started before they get the advantage.

The familiar sound of weighty thumps and the sound of swords whiffing through the air without finding their marks met his ears.

Sardinia took that as his cue and lifted tentacles of water from the ground.

A woman’s voice. “He’s here!”

Orion jumped up through the hole in the floor to find Erin fighting, but he wasn’t sure he could even call it that. He’d managed to free himself from the throne, but he hadn’t gotten to cutting the bindings off his feet yet.

That didn’t stop him from propelling his whole body at the nearest armed man with his legs tied together like a mermaid’s tail. The impact propelled his attacker clear across the room.

Before he could cut his legs apart, one of the men was bringing a sword down on him. Erin could roll, but not far enough.

Orion ran in, swiping his sword horizontally through with all his strength. It connected hard with the man’s armor and sent him flying, too.

Erin vaulted off his hands into a flip to kick a guy, and landed quite comfortably in Orion’s arms.

“Ah, nice to see you, King!”

“Shut up, you knew I was there.”

Erin slashed through the rest of his bindings and Orion set him down just in time to fend off the next incoming attack. 

Orion grinned. It had been a while since they fought back to back. Erin was still wearing half the Sardinia costume, soaked and ripped apart. The damage flattered him even more in its own way, as he kicked a man in the face with his bare feet while the star’s finest silk swirled around him.

“There are six and only four of them fight,” Erin said. “Fifth one is that hydromancer, and sixth is a doctor or something.”

“And we have four,” Orion said, just as one of Sardinia’s ropes of water swept the ones coming at them away.

Erin laughed. “That’s almost no fun!”

Through all of this, that woman was screaming frantically. “Where is he?” Soon Sardinia’s powers were beaten back as she began to use her own.

“Looks like we need to take her out,” Orion said.

Erin followed him, but in their path stood a fairly huge man. He growled as he flexed, and the animalistic ears of a Bestian appeared on his head, as well as huge teeth and an undeniable aura of power.

Orion stopped short and leapt out of the way of a punch that sent rubble flying out of the stone floor.

“You didn’t say one of them was a Bestian!”

Erin shrugged. “Did I not?”

Erin threw one of his knives, and frowned when it whizzed past the Bestian’s ear. In addition to the man’s strength, he his speed had also increased.

“Not so fun now, is it?” 

He steadied himself as he and Erin braced for a tough fight. Fang would never let him live it down if he lost this one.

—-

Sardinia groaned as he felt the same pull against the water as he had at the play. “It’s Sistera.”

“Thought so,” Shinkai said. Then, after a pause, “She doesn’t like you very much.”

“Do you think?” 

“Look out.”

Shinkai pulled him three feet to the right just as the massive Bestsian punched the floor overhead, sending boulders of stone pouring down.

“Thanks.”

Shinkai adjusted his glasses and peered up through cracks in the floor. Sardinia was thankful for him. Controlling water in this sort of volume and against another hydromancer who was nearly at his level was such a strain, he couldn’t keep track of where their friends were.

“They may need help,” Shinkai said.

Sardinia was fighting for control. Although his skills were superior, she was neutralizing him by a large margin.

“I’ll do my best.”

—-

Erin felt the floor give underneath him as he leapt out of the path of another blow.

“Shit.” He didn’t have the traction to spring up. But what was more concerning was that the room was going to crumble if they kept this up.

Orion leapt in front of him to parry the next blow, but the Bestian’s heavy swing was enough to send them both flying back.

A splash of water rose up to break their impact against the wall. Sardinia was trying, but his hands were tied as long as that woman was on the field.

“I think we’re under the park,” Erin said, breathing heavy. “So at least we won’t bring a building down, but...”

Orion groaned and shook off the last hit, reorienting himself. “I’m more concerned about what’s under us.”

Erin rubbed the dirt off his face. The Bestian fighter was already staring them down again. He’d taken some damage, a few cuts bled, but in his beast form they didn’t slow him down at all. “I need to get closer to this guy.”

A cocksure grin spread across Orion’s face. “Haven’t done that one in a while.”

Erin smirked back and took a running jump. 

Orion swung the flat side of his sword with enough momentum to catch Erin’s feet and propel him higher.

As he somersaulted in the air, he remembered the part of him that missed this so much. What a thrill it was to weaponize Orion’s strength with his own body, to _be_ Orion’s weapon.

He cleared the Bestian’s head and brought his knife down into his back. As he cut through what he hoped was a main artery, he found himself feeling something. Not quite guilt, but a twinge more of something. This guy had seemed so tired of everything.

From the lush and beautiful world of Bestia, what could this man have seen to make him ally himself with a bunch of pissed off rejects from Lama and pissy Sirenian noble? 

He landed and stood over the body. It didn’t matter if his story was sad. He’d raised a hand to Orion, so Erin killed him.

“Pretty simple..”

Orion ran over to him, panting. “You call that simple?”

Erin looked up as if he’d been in a daze. Orion was battered and bruised, but he was standing. 

“Where’s the hydromancer?”

Around them, the fighters were all either knocked out or dead. The only two he didn’t spot her her and the boy.

That dumb boy was probably hiding, which was best for him.

***

Sisterna had been one of his father’s advisors in the years before his death. He had met her many times. The fact she couldn’t tell his face from Erin’s told how much she had ever regarded him.

She was one of the many who supported the barrier, to almost a religious degree. 

“There you are, you brat.”

He already knew she’d be there from how the water was pulling. For his part, he held still. 

The level where they stood was filling up. The water was to his knees. It was not an issue for himself or for Shinkai, but those two idiots from Lama could be in a lot of trouble. He needed to disable Sisterna’s ability to counter his magic if he wanted save them all.

“You can surrender,” he said. “You don’t have to die.”

“You wouldn’t have the guts.” She looked down on him in disgust through the droplets of water floating around them. “A child like you has no right to the throne.”

“Is that why you’ve done all of this?”

Shinkai, who’d never left his side, started in alarm. “Watch out!”

This time, he hadn’t any need of Shinkai’s future vision. He could see the blade glint.

He thought of Erin’s hand on his wrist saying “steady, but not too tight” and how he told him to exhale as he moved.

It wasn’t new to him. Strange how similar the art of hydromancer was to fighting hand to hand, at least in principle.

There was a flow to it.

He ducked under Shinkai’s grasp. His faithful servant would have no doubt shielded him with his own body, if given the chance. 

Then he thrust forward, quick and smooth. He felt the knife go in. He heard her grunt as she felt the pain and realized what was inevitable now. 

But she was still conscious and the water hadn’t enveloped Sardinia. It hadn’t moved to stop him from delivering the fatal blow.

She crumpled to the ground with a hoarse laugh. Soon even that was drowned out as she slumped into a cloud of red in the water.

“It wasn’t rain I saw,” Shinkai said.

Sardinia stood above the body. Erin’s knife was so smooth that the blood rolled right off the Laman steel. Soon it was washed away. “No, I suppose it wasn’t.”

The walls around them began to crumble. Shinkai swept him aside as another boulder fell.

And with it, two Laman soldiers tumbling down on what used to be floor.

“Ah, looks like he’s got it covered,” Erin joked, even as rubble was falling around him.

Orion was much more panicked. “How the hell do we get out of here?”

Sardinia smiled. “You two better hold your breath.”

***

Water came pouring in from below as the foundations under the stone chamber cracked and the lake beneath the city swelled to reclaim the structure. 

Orion grabbed Erin and held him tightly to his chest as the floor gave out and they were submerged. He wouldn’t be separated from him, not this time. 

Erin didn’t have the chance to say anything snarky before the water took them, but he smiled. Even under the water in what little light there was, he did his best to tease him.

He laid his head against Orion’s shoulder as Sardinia’s magic swept them away.

***

Orion gasped as their heads emerged at the surface of the water. He looked around.

The moon was shining. They were bobbing in a small lake somewhere in the park. A lake that had been significantly smaller and more pond-like that morning. The water was still churning and swirling as the ruins underground gave up their contents.

He kicked his legs. Now that he knew how to swim, it was like second nature. 

Erin held onto him, grinning, as Orion did all the work. 

“Could you help at least?”

Erin laughed. “This dress is too hard to kick in.”

“Bull shit, I watched you kick a man’s face in—“

Sardinia cleared his throat to catch their attention. “All accounted for?” He asked.

He, Erin, Sardinia, and Shinkai were there. “Looks like it.”

Sardinia waved his hand, and a gentle wave pushed them closer to the shore.

“What about your men?” 

Sardinia shook his head. “I’ll have to do a head count, but I’m sure they’re all right. It’s hard to drown a Sirenian.”

“I wonder if that kid got away,” Erin sighed. “I didn’t kill him, but if he drowned that’s probably worse.”

“My men can handle it from here.” Sardinia was the first to reach the edge of the newly expanded water feature. 

Shinkai went ahead of him and climbed up onto a flat stone. He gave his king a hand and pulled him up. “I held onto my hat, but it looks like I need a new one.”

Orion found his footing and followed them, pulling Erin up with him, whether he needed the help or not. He just wasn’t ready to let go of Erin yet. “I’ve been soaked to the core twice today.”

Soldiers and attendants came running. They offered Orion a stretcher and he had to insist he wasn’t injured. Erin had been hurt more than he let on—that was the usual. Orion noticed him favoring his left side.

Neither was willing to accept medical help, but they did take a ride back to the castle via carriage when offered. After the adrenaline cleared, it became clear to Orion how exhausted he was.

Erin rode in the cab with him. He began to strip off Sardinia’s gems, those that had survived at least. They hit the floor, heavy.

Orion threw the blanket he’d been given over Erin’s shoulders and rubbed his hair. The blanket was soon wet from how soaked they both still were.

Erin laid his head against his shoulder.

There was something that needed to be said, but they were both too tired to say it. 

It could wait another day.


	8. Healing Waters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The way I ended the last chapter, I was going to jump to the next day—but hen I got a better idea, so please forgive the inconsistency. I’ll try to edit it at a later time.

The carriage delivered them to the castle. On orders of Sardinia, an attendant came to show them the way to the healing baths.

“I’m hardly injured,” Orion said. He was exhausted, and he was was bruised and sore. There was a cut and a scrape or two. But all he needed was a night’s rest and a hearty meal in the morning and he’d be fine as rain.

“If my king doesn’t go, I won’t either.”

Orion feared that Erin’s injuries were more serious than he let on. “But if I go, you will?”

Erin wrinkled his nose up. “I’m sticking with you until the bodies are confirmed.”

“Then, we’re going.” He nodded to the attendant. “Please show us the way.”

***

With all of the night’s events, it was close to midnight by the time they reached the baths. Orion saw some of Sardinia’s soldiers being shuffled in. One of them was on a stretcher, but he was conscious and moaning about his leg.

“Does everyone get equal treatment?”

The attendant nodded. “For medical reasons, of course,” she said. “We do have to moderate access for other uses, however.”

Erin smiled. “Sardinia said it’s good for the skin.”

“Ah.” When he thought about it, he couldn’t remember seeing a blemish or a scar on anyone he’d met. He wondered if they’d ever seen scars, if they’d find them terribly ugly. Maybe that was why Sardinia had been so fretful over Erin’s.

They were led down a hallway to a stone room locked with a heavy oak door. The woman attendant unlocked it and then handed the key to Erin. “King Sardinia would like you to use his private bath, for your security.”

Erin grinned. “Fancy.”

“So there is favoritism,”  
Orion said, with much less enthusiasm as Erin. “We don’t require any special treatment here.”

The attendant giggled behind her hand, not unlike Sardinia himself. “In troubled times, such as during the star gem crisis, my king has opened up this room to medical services. But, we only have a few wounded, and very few visitors this late at night. So please use it.” She bowed deeply to them both. 

“All right,” Orion grumbled. “I guess it would be rude to refuse.”

She laughed again. “King Orion, you really aren’t at all like they say.”

Orion wanted to ask who “they” were and what they were saying, but he was too tired and such a thing was fruitless. He thanked her and was glad that at least her opinion of him had improved somewhat, though he didn’t know why.

Left to their own devices, they entered the room.

Orion had seen his fair share of water as of late, and was relieved to find that the bath inside really was just a bath. It was circular and only four feet deep at its center, with rings of stone around the edges at different levels with angled sides to allow one to sit or lie down.

The air was warm and thick with steam. There was a calming blue light emitted from the floor under the water. He wondered if it was electric, or some kind of magic.

The sound of water dripping and running from two spouts on either side was relaxing. Orion wondered if he could just go to sleep on the stone floor. He’d probably like it better than his bed.

Erin locked the door behind them.

“Is that necessary?”

Erin shrugged, while spinning the key’s ring around on his finger. “You never know.”

Orion waited for him by the side of the bath. “After you.”

He walked over from the door and hesitated at the edge. Orion looked at him expectingly, and he stepped in.

His feet were still bare and he was wearing only what little remained of Sardinia’s costume, a silk dress with most of the skirt ripped apart. Is swirled around him as he stepped in.

As he dipped into the deeper area at the center, a drop of red clouded in the water.

Orion sighed. “That’s what I thought.” 

He kicked his shoes off. His own clothes were just as tattered. They’d already been soaked once today, so he saw no reason to remove them.

He stepped into the water. It was warm, and instantly soothed the minor wounds on his body.

Erin moved to turn the side where he was injured away as he approached. “It’s just a knick, it’s nothing.”

“Don’t hide it from me.” 

Erin gave in and allowed him to look at the wound. It was a gash on his side, in a similar spot as the first incident. He’d slapped a bandage over it, but even after some time since they’d been checked over by Sardinia’s medics, it was still bleeding.

“It needs a stitch,” Orion said.

“It’ll be fine in a moment, these baths do quick work.”

“But you almost didn’t come here.”

Erin huffed and turned his nose up. “Of course not. I can do a stitch or two myself.”

“Erin.”

“I didn’t want to worry you with unnecessary things,” Erin said. “It’s not that deep a wound.”

Orion took a step closer and placed his hands on Erin’s shoulders from behind. He pulled him back against his chest.

“I’ll decide what’s necessary.”

Erin’s body was even warmer than the water around them.

He dipped his hand into the bath and cupped his palm to pour a small amount over Erin’s shoulder where there was a scratch. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but the skin was red and angry. When he touched it with the water, the redness went away.

Erin sighed at the touch. His posture slacked and he allowed Orion to take some of his weight.

Orion closed his arms around Erin’s stomach and held him close. His body was sore and tired, but he didn’t want to sit down yet. He wanted to hold Erin and know that he was safe.

“King...”

He could hear exhaustion in Erin’s voice. 

“Someday it won’t be like this,” Orion said. “Someday the fighting will end.”

“For you, it will.” Erin shrugged Orion’s arms off himself and turned to sit at the edge of a stone ring, letting the water soak him up to the neck.

Orion sat beside him. “For both of us. For everyone on Lama. You won’t have to hurt yourself for my sake anymore.”

“You say that like I do it on purpose.”

“And you think I don’t notice when you leave yourself open.”

Erin huffed. “And why would I do a stupid thing like that?”

“I have to assume you are trying to distract the enemy away from me,” Orion said. “But you’re not built for that, you are a quick little thing who should leave the heavy hits to me.”

“You’re imagining things.”

Orion sighed. He leaned back against the side of the bath. The trickling water reminded him that this was supposed to be relaxing.

“If I were to die,” he said, “there would be other heirs, other leaders. Many of them more capable of ruling than I am, most likely.”

Erin sat up straight, frowning. “King, you—“

He didn’t let him finish. “But without you, there’s nothing. There’s no King Orion. I’d be dead in a week without you.”

“That isn’t true at all. None of that is true.”

“It is. You are Lama’s true spirit and I can’t have you recklessly laying your life down for me.”

There was a slosh of water as Erin stood up straight. 

Orion waited for a moment, wondering if he’d leave the baths in a huff. 

Erin turned slowly and knelt on one knee by Orion’s side. Orion could feel the warmth of his thigh as it slid against his leg under the water.

He clapped his hand against the stone by Orion’s head and leaned in until Orion could feel Erin’s breath on his face.

“You’d better toughen up,” Erin said. “Stupid king. Do you think I’d have done all this for anyone?”

Orion bristled. Erin was so close he could hiss him, but those red eyes staring intently into him shook the idea far from his mind. 

Erin pushed his other hand against Orion’s chest, setting him back against the stone. “You won’t die while I draw breath,” he said. “Get used to the idea.”

Orion met his icy glare with one of his own. “I refuse.”

Erin laughed at that. His hand left Orion’s chest and flitted over the line off his jaw with such a light touch that Orion couldn’t feel it at all. “Someday you’ll put me in a grave,” he said. “And when that day comes you’d better be prepared to save this world without me, or I’ll haunt the shit out of you.”

“What a terrifying thought.” He caught Erin’s wrist and pulled his hand away from his face. “What if I protect you, and you don’t die before me? What if I save this world first?”

“Hmm.” A grin spread across his face. “That’s why it can only be you,” he said. “Believing in something like a day when the fighting ends. Only you could be so stupid, and that’s why I can’t let you die.”

“Erin...”

The gash in Erin’s side was bleeding more seriously in spite of the water’s healing effects.

Orion sighed and cupped his hand over the wound to apply pressure to it. “You need to calm yourself.”

“This water is too warm,” he said. “It’s a stupid design.”

“That’s not what’s got your heart rate up, I’d say.”

“Hmf. You’ve got such a vivid imagination, king.”

Orion wanted to ask if he’d only imagined Erin kissing him before the show, but that would only wind Erin up more. In a lot of ways.

He guided Erin back to his seat and kept his hand pressed against the wound. Soon it stopped gushing, and started to close thanks to the water’s magical effects.

“Just rest,” he said, taking his hand away. “We’ll resume this conversation another time, when you’re healed.”

Erin responded to that by sinking into the water until it was up to his nose and blowing angry bubbles through his nostrils.

Orion was sure that he was trying to annoy him, but he couldn’t think about much other than how lovely it was when Erin’s hair floated around him in the still waters of the bath. 

***

They agreed to go to their individual rooms to get a good night’s rest. Considering how much Erin envied his bed, he had been hoping he’d keep his word to stay by his side until the bodies were recovered, and pester him to sleep in it again.

That didn’t happen. Erin stayed in the hall until the door was locked securely, and then went to his own room.

Despite the awkward parting, Orion fell asleep as quickly as one could snuff a candle.

The healing baths had a strong effect. He slept deeply and didn’t wake until morning. When he rose, his body was not sore.

He wasn’t sure if he’d gotten out of bed without an ache in years.

***

Erin met him in the hall, fully dressed, and showing no signs of injury or exhaustion.

“Good morning, king!” He grinned ear to ear.

He also showed no sign of acknowledging their last conversation.

“You usually invite yourself in,” Orion said.

Erin shrugged. “Ah King, you can get yourself out of bed just fine!”

So that’s how it was going to be. As if this entire excursion to Sirena had never happened.

He found himself uncertain. He didn’t want to forget. 

They met Sardinia and Shinkai for breakfast.

The four of them sat at an ornate table and were served Sirenian breakfast items, which included a range of sweet fruits, bitter vegetables, and salty fish. The flavors together made for a complex meal. 

Orion missed simple gruel. Maybe an egg, or a piece of toast.

“Did you find any surviving members of the terrorist faction?”

Sardinia waved his hand. “Not at breakfast please, it’s distasteful.”

He groaned. As a general on Lama, he’d barely catch a meal between briefings. “Then, what shall we talk about?”

He smiled. “Did you like the bath?” 

“It was adequate to heal our wounds.”

“Is that all?”

Erin smiled big and bit into a piece of fish. “It was super fun,” he said. “Let’s do it again next time.”

“This one smiles,” Shinkai said in a low tone, “but his eyes are angry.”

“Ha, ha, ha, thats _funny_.” The way Erin balanced the steak knife on his finger was unsettling.

Sardinia looked at them both in turn and sighed. “Well, I’ve done what I can for you.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Well, for your health, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Ah, Sardinia is such a funny person,” Erin said, still grinning. “What a bunch of funny people we have here.”

Sardinia shrugged. “If you’re done eating, then come along. I’ll brief you on what we’ve learned overnight.”

***

Erin did what he always did when he had too many thoughts in his head. He smiled and pushed it all down.

He had a simple role in life: protect King Orion. 

Anything else that distracted him from that task needed to be pushed aside, even if it was Orion himself.

Orion, looking at him like that. Saying things like that.

Sardinia led them to a part of the castle they had never seen before. It had cells with bars, but it was bright and decorated as any other part.

He could have laughed at the idea of sirenians taking the care to make even their prison as aesthetically pleasing as possible, but he was too busy trying not to feel things to find the humor in it at that particular moment.

“We found two survivors, and the rest’s bodies have been recovered matching the descriptions Erin gave us.”

“Is one of them that kid with the weak stomach?” Erin asked.

“A young medic from Eterno, yes.” Sardinia smiled. “And the other is from Bestia.”

Erin stopped in his tracks. “The Bestian? No way! I’m sure I cut his neck.”

Sardinia shrugged. “I don’t think he will ever recover full use of his body thanks to that wound you gave him, but we will treat him here on Sirena and see if we can improve his condition.”

Orion scoffed. “You’re kinder than me.”

Sardinia continued to smile coyly at Orion. It made something in Erin’s chest tighten up the way they teased each other sometimes. 

But that was unnecessary. Distractions. Tight chest feelings weren’t going to protect King Orion.

“I have been blessed with such a gift as the waters of Sirena,” Sardinia said, “so it is my responsibility to offer mercy and aid.”

“I guess since my blessing is steel, I see things a little differently.”

Erin hurried to catch up. “Did you interrogate them?”

“I was hoping you’d talk to them,”  
Sardinia said. 

“Well, that I can do.”

***

They locked the poor kid in with him.

It wasn’t like he’d go for the door, but it was funny. The kid was shivering.

“You know I have a friend from Eterno that is about your age,” Erin said. “It’s too bad we couldn’t all be friends.”

The boy from Eterno crossed his arms and tried to look tough. “Look, I didn’t mean for people to die, it was all the people from Lama who decided on that.”

“Hmm...”

“You don’t believe me?”

“It’s just that, even when a whole unit was dead, you still spied on us.”

“You saw me, I thought so.”

Erin leaned back on his chair. “I mean, not that it matters, since everybody’s dead, but, we’d like to know what the hell happened. If you can tell me, maybe we’ll go easy on you.”

He took a deep sigh. “There are many people across the stars who are unhappy with the current leadership,” he said. “Think about it. Every star, with the exception of Mistero I guess, has recently come under the rule of a young prince. Is it a coincidence that the star gem crisis happened so shortly after?”

Erin knew the inside of that story better than anyone else here, but he kept it to himself. “So a bunch of rejects from across the stars convinced you that they could do something about that?”

He nodded. “We were gathered together by Sisterna. She thought if Sardinia could be removed, then she would be named Regent of Sirena. Largo also thought that Fang should be removed from Bestia’s throne. Said that he’s negligent.”

There was a story behind that, too.

“But,” the kid went in. “The ones from Lama in particular disliked King Orion, and they were the best trained and the most eager to fight. So when Orion appeared on Sirena they decided to move in spite of my protests.”

Erin couldn’t say that he was surprised to hear that the Laman members were the bad apples. “Why are you here?”

“Eterno hasn’t got much of anything,” he said. “And Sirena has so much.”

“If you thought that old woman would have lent aid to Eterno, you’re mistaken,” Erin said. “More than that. You’re like, really dumb.”

“I just wanted things to change,” he said. “I just wanted this era to end, so a new one could take its place. For better or worse. Just, something new.”

Erin chuckled. “Like Sardinia’s death card, huh?”

He looked up, confused by that. Erin didn’t bother to explain.

***

Erin rejoined the others in the hall that connected the interview room and the cells together.

Sardinia sighed. “I wish that a few more had survived so that I wouldn’t have to make an example of this poor boy.”

“Don’t be so easy on him,”  
Orion said. “He may be young, and he didn’t kill anyone with his own hands, it he still conspired to have you removed from the throne.”

“Let him serve for a year or two,” Erin said. “Then send him back to Eterno.”

Sardinia sighed. “I doubt his impression of Sirena will change very much if we keep him in prison.”

“He’s just such an idiot,” Erin said, exasperated. “He believed that woman would send aid to Eterno even though her whole platform was isolation.”

“He’s young and she was quite manipulative,” Sardinia answered.

“What about...”. Orion was tapping his fingers against his folded arms in thought. “What if you made him work it off?”

Sardinia scowled. “That sounds worse.”

“I don’t mean like slave labor!“

Erin watched Orion floundering for words and tried not to pay any mind to how endearing it was or how it made his chest warm.

Warm chest feelings wouldn’t protect his king, either.

“You said you could put doctors and farmers on a ship for Lama,” he said. “So, why not do the same for Eterno? And send that kid to work with them—under strict observation, of course.”

Sardinia thought over his words. “Yes, I will consider that.”

“And the one called Largo from Bestia will need intense medical care for months,” Shinkai added. “So there will be plenty of time to consult Lord Fang and come to an agreement about his sentencing.”

Erin laughed. “Seems like everything is sorted, now I’ve kind of forgotten why we came here in the first place.”

“To learn about a more relaxed lifestyle,” Orion sighed. “But I suppose Lama follows us wherever we go.”

Sardinia smiled. “My predictions suggest that your effort will be rewarded with time.”

“Good to know.” 

“If you’re satisfied, then please enjoy the rest of your time here comfortably.”

“Thank you. Our ship leaves tomorrow.”

With that as a dismissal, Orion turned to head back to the main castle. Erin was about to walk after him, when he felt Sardinia’s hand on his arm.

He turned to find the young king smiling at him. He held his deck of cards upward, fanned. “Erin, please pick one.”

“Why me?”

Sardinia didn’t answer, but motioned to him with the hand of cards again.

Erin humored him and plucked a card from the fan. He groaned, realizing that in his hand was a card called The Lovers. Sardinia’s smart little giggle didn’t make it any better.

“You did that on purpose.”

“Not at all.” Sardinia tucked the cards away. “But, I did expect as much.”

“Is this like your death card? Does it have a different meaning or what?”

“It means that you’ll soon make a choice, and it may require some  
sacrifice. Give up part of who you are now, in return for the bond you seek with ah...” He gave him a coy smirk. “Well, someone.” 

“Great.”

“Or, perhaps you’re being tested by a temptation of the heart and your answer is to hold true to who you are now. It could mean that, too.”

Erin groaned and scratched his head in frustration. “I’m beginning to think that tarot is bullshit.”

Sardinia laughed. His eyes softened, and his smile became a warm and genuine thing like Erin had never seen on him before. “It is what you make of it,” he said. “It is easy enough to find a cause to die for, Erin. I hope that you’ll find something to live for.”

Stupid Sardinia was always in his head. What a meddler.

“Thanks,” he said. 

As much as he liked the warmer weather and the water, he couldn’t wait to be back home in cold, grey Lama.


	9. Crescendo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter ahhhhhh

Orion decided to spend the afternoon of his trip to Sirena doing what he had meant to do in the first place, and went to observe Sirenian culture.

Dressed again in simple Sirenian clothing, he went into the town. The recent upset had left the people confused, but not shaken. They went about their business as they had been doing all along.

He thought, perhaps the people  
of Sirena were resilient in their own ways. Easy going as they were, they took it in stride when something interrupted their routine—fluid like the water their star was known for.

Erin had declined his invitation to join him, but Orion was certain that his dutiful attendant was never farther than his own shadow. 

He decided to stop at the same flower shop where Erin had picked up the cute potted plant. It was a homey place with worn curtains and antique fixtures. He liked to imagine a business like this setting up in the capital city on Lama someday.

The shopkeeper, an elderly man, sidled up to him while he looked over the array of roses.

“Excuse me mister, but I must say, you sure do look an awful lot like that King Orion who was up on stage last night.”

Orion laughed. “Not at all. That guy is much more handsome than I am.”

“Well, it’s a shame he didn’t get to finish his performance. I’m going to the revised stage play tonight, but it won’t be the same.”

“I didn’t catch it myself,” he said. “I heard something happened.”

“Seems they had a problem with the water effects,” he said. “Might have even been sabotage, I heard. But you know, what’s a bit of spilled water in Sirena?”

“As long as no one was hurt.”

“None that I’ve heard.” He looked at the bundle of red roses Orion had picked out. “Ah, is there a special lady you’re going home to?”

“No, not at all.” Orion cleared his throat. “These are for a friend.”

“For a friend, you should pick yellow or white. Anyone would mistake red roses for a romantic gesture.”

“That’s, ah—“ He stammered. “They need to be just this color of red, for a special reason.”

The shopkeeper shrugged and chuckled at him. “Well, if that’s what you want, I can wrap them up nice for you.”

“Please.”

***

Orion didn’t see Erin again for the rest of the evening. This wasn’t unusual. When he was working, sometimes he wouldn’t see Erin for days at a time. It felt odd though, since they had been sticking so close to each other for most of the trip.

He knew that Erin was always watching him, or handling something elsewhere. He wondered how many of his enemies Erin had snuffed out, how many injuries he had suffered in silence.

As night fell, Orion returned to his room and was thankful to say that it would be his last night sleeping in it.

He felt he had grown to know Sardinia better during this mission, and he could genuinely call him a friend. All the same, he’d seen enough of the waters of Sirena, and longed to look upon the spires of Lama and know that he was home again.

He dressed himself for bed and shut the door of the wardrobe.

Erin was standing there in the corner where he hadn’t been before. This time Orion managed not to shout, but the sudden appearance made him nearly jump out of his skin.

“Didn’t expect to see me?” Erin asked, smirking over his successful surprise.

“I thought you were avoiding me,”  
he said, while trying to calm his heart. “I do have a door, you know.”

Erin was wearing another silk Sirenian garment. This one was even more Sardinia-esque than the last one. It was a robe that fell to the ankles and tied at the waist with an ornate sash. The embroidery on the sash and the sleeves looked like a golden star chart. 

On his wrist there was a string of opals set in gold. The thought of Erin wearing another man’s bracelet annoyed him more than he thought it should.

“Sardinia must favor you to dress you so richly,” he said.

“What, I can’t wear nice clothes?”

“That isn’t what I said at all.” He sighed. “Quite the opposite, you should make sure to pack them all.”

“Why, you like them?”

He ignored the teasing tone. “I told you, they suit you.”

Erin’s eyes scanned the room and landed on the vase of roses Orion was keeping beside his bed.

Orion sighed. “I was going to give those to you. My way of an apology.”

“Apologize for what?”

“I don’t know, to be honest. I just got the sense that you were angry with me this morning.”

Erin’s playful grin relaxed into a neutral expression. “I’m not mad at you. And you don’t need to give me something like flowers.”

“They reminded me of you.”

Erin chuckled to himself. “Yeah?”

“They match the color of your eyes, and under those pretty blossoms there are some dangerous thorns.”

“Well, aren’t you poetic today, King.”

He shrugged. “If you don’t want them, I’ll keep them for myself.”

Erin seemed to think over that. Maybe not just about the flowers.

“Erin,” he said, trailing off into another thought. “You’re fond of saying how stupid I am.”

“Ha, yes.”

“Maybe I am stupid.” He sighed. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“We’re going home to Lama in the morning. What’s hard to understand about that?”

“And are we to forget everything that happened here?”

Erin shrugged. “Not sure what you mean.”

Orion exhaled a deep and troubled breath. This was getting him nowhere. “I just need to know something. This is important, so don’t lie to me.”

“I would never.”

He doubted that, but he moved on. “Erin, don’t you believe that the fighting will end someday?”

Erin’s eyes softened. His mouth pulled, as if he almost might smile, but not in a happy way. “For you.”

“Damn you Erin, stop being cryptic. This is important.”

His eyes looked up at him, long black eyelashes fluttering. “Well, of course I believe it. Your fight will end someday, and you’ll no longer need me.”

Anger flickered inside him at the sound of that. “I won’t _need_ you?”

“Yeah.” Erin shrugged as if that was obvious. “But someone else might. Your fight will end, but there’s always a battle somewhere.”

“Do you care so little for me?” Orion said. He clenched his fists, trying to bite back the bitterness in his tone. “Saying things like how you’ll die, or you’ll disappear when the fighting is done. You’d leave me to enjoy a peaceful world without you? Don’t you have any idea what you are to me?”

It had been a long time since Orion had seen Erin’s countenance go completely cold. When he could no longer joke and tease his way out of a difficult situation, this was next.

“I’m precious to you,” he said. “You couldn’t bear to lose me. I know that.”

Orion released a heavy and frustrated sigh. “If you know that, then why do you...”

“Because you’re more precious to me,”  
Erin said, as he clapped his hand against his chest. “I have to protect you. I want you to smile, always.”

“Erin...”

Orion pulled Erin into his arms. He held him close and cupped his head to his shoulder.

Erin was tense for a second, his eyes wide. Then he relaxed, letting himself sink into Orion’s chest. 

Orion dug his hand into Erin’s hair and held him tight. “Erin, I love you.”

He felt Erin take a deep breath against his chest as if trying not to cry at the sound of those words.

He rubbed his hands over Erin’s back to comfort him. “I’d die if you ever left my side.”

Against his chest, Erin sniffled and then laughed. “That’s because someone would kill you within a week.”

“It’s true.”

Erin pulled away from the embrace, but didn’t shrug Orion’s hands from his shoulders. He wasn’t crying, but his smile was uncertain as he looked down at the space between them. “You’re so stupid,” he said. “To love someone like me, it’s...”

Orion cupped his hand against Erin’s chin and rubbed his cheek with his thumb. “You could just say you love me, too.”

Erin’s arms snaked upward and around Orion’s neck. He lifted onto the balls of his feet to kiss him.

Orion felt a rush as their lips met. This time he wasn’t surprised, or rushed, and there was no one who could interrupt them. He could absorb everything about how it felt, how warm and soft it was.

Both of them had experience beyond their years in killing, but when it came to this, they were new. He heard Erin’s foot scuffle against the hardwood floor, and leaned down to help him find his ground.

He felt Erin’s lips part against his mouth and ventured to kiss him deeper, turning his head. The hand he held at Erin’s waist moved lower to offer more balance to him as, but as he felt Erin’s toned curves, he realized he was holding him in a suggestive way. 

Erin hummed against his lips, pleased by his mistake, and tightened the arms around his neck. 

Orion was distracted by the lovely sound Erin made and tripped forward under his weight. Erin’s back slammed against the wall behind him and Orion couldn’t stop from crashing into him.

It was a wonder the guards didn’t rush in at the sound of the clatter.

Erin groped at him, trying to pull him back into the kiss in spite of the bruises he’d probably just sustained. Orion found himself pinning him to the wall to put a stop to it.

“I want you on the bed,” he said.

Erin smiled back at him coyly. “King, I didn’t expect you to come out and say it.”

“I...”. he sputtered. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“How else could you mean a line like that?”

Orion could feel his face burning hot. “I just want you to be comfortable, is that too much to ask?”

The flip of his hair was unnecessary, Orion thought, as Erin took a few steps to sit primly on the bed. Still, the teasing looks and coy laughter were welcome in the place of so much doubt.

Erin’s robe had loosened in the scuffle, revealing his neck and collarbones. The bath last night had left his skin glowing. 

His hair was fresh and bouncy, too. Orion took the end of his ponytail and wrapped it around his hand. It was cool and smooth against his lips as he kissed it.

Erin narrowed his eyes at him with a bemused smile. “What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer, as he released his hair and kneeled in front of the bed where he sat. 

The shoes Erin wore were Sirenian style slippers that pulled off easily. His  
toes were cute in proportion and he had well manicured nails, although the ball and heel of his foot were rough from running and climbing. Even on the bottom of his foot, there was an old scar. 

Orion kissed the arc of his foot where it was softest. He held the leg steady when Erin jolted at the sensation.

“Are you serious?” Erin snorted and tried to wiggle free.

Orion wasn’t having that. He pulled Erin’s leg closer. The loose robe exposed it up to the thigh. He kissed the inside of his knee.

He looked up at Erin, holding his gaze until their eyes met, and Erin quickly turned away. He chuckled. “If I gave you a kiss for every scar, how many would that be?”

“Ah—“ Erin made a frustrated little sound and turned his nose up. “Do you have any shame, saying lines like that?”

“If all it takes to see you blush is humiliating myself a bit, then I’ll gladly do it.”

Erin was blushing. He tried to hide it by turning his head and holding his sleeve up, but it was undeniable.

Orion rose from the floor and eased himself into the bed beside Erin. For his part, he was trying to hide how his hands were shaking. This moment felt surreal and fragile, as if too heavy a touch could shatter it.

Such a detail couldn’t have gotten past Erin. He caught Orion’s hand with his and pulled it to his chest. 

“It could take all night,” he said. “If you took the time to kiss every scar I’ve got, we might be here all night.”

“So be it.”

***

Erin woke with a groggy yawn, although this time he was not under the effects of any drug. 

The weight of Orion’s arm around his waist pinned him place, and reminded him of the situation’s reality—something he could have easily doubted.

The morning light was dim in the window as the sun hadn’t risen yet.

He felt Orion’s breath against his neck, slow and warm. Erin had a habit of waking at any little movement or sound, but there was no reason for Orion to lose sleep. He held still. 

Orion’s sense weren’t as heightened as Erin’s, but he must have felt something. He sucked a breath into his chest and squeezed his arms around Erin as he let it out in a content sigh. He wasn’t quite awake.

Erin had only felt this same way on Orion’s coronation—the day he first knelt to his king. Orion told him not to kneel, and to stand next to him. The warmth in his chest then was just like this.

He wondered if this was what happiness was like, and if happy people felt this way all the time. If that was true, then he really was strange. He’d been working all this time to bring back people’s smiles, but he hadn’t any clue what it meant to be happy for himself.

It was kind of distracting. He wasn’t sure how people managed to live like this. It made him want to stay in this bed forever and never move away from Orion’s sleepy embrace.

“Erin.” Orion’s voice was deep and raspy. 

“Yeah?”

Orion nuzzled against him. “Just making sure.”

“Ha. Did you think I’d disappear?”

Orion hummed. “Yeah, you might sneak away.”

Erin rolled over to face him. Orion’s eyes were sleepy and soft as he looked back at him by the feeble morning light. Silver bangs fell in his face. He smiled in a way Erin had never seen before. 

“We’re taking one of these beds home with us, right?”

“I did promise you.”

“That’s right.”

Orion groaned. “Although, that means I’ll have to get used to these damn soft mattresses.”

Erin smiled. “Yeah?”

“My bed will be yours as well.”

Erin shook his head in dismay at the statement, not sure if it was arrogance or naïveté that made Orion say that kind of thing. He expected nothing less. “Oh my, people are going to talk.”

“I don’t care.” Orion yawned again. “It wouldn’t be the first scandal about us.”

“Well, no.”

“I suppose I should give you a title though,” he said, nestling against the pillow. “To avoid impropriety.”

“Me with a title?” Erin laughed. “What would that even be?”

“I think in this situation it would be Prince Consort, but,” he yawned and stretched his arms before wrapping them around Erin again. “If you don’t like that, I’ll just make something up.”

“Are you half asleep?” Erin shook his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t sleep talking or something. “King, that sounds a lot like you want to marry me.”

Orion let the words sink into his headz. Upon realization, he was wide awake with a snort. “That isn’t what I said!”

Erin laughed. Orion’s face was so red he could see it even in the dim light.   
“Prince Consort is a married title, you dolt!” 

“Well, what of it?”

Erin was taken aback by that, although he should have seen it coming. “And then people will call me Prince Erin like in a fairy tale?”

“Whatever makes you happy.”

Erin had been pondering what happiness was, and thought he’d never be able to sum it up. But when Orion said that, he found the words easily. “I just want to be with you,” he said. “When you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Orion smiled. “Simple enough.”

***

Sardinia waited with Shinkai at the docking area of the port. Since the implementation of Sirena’s barrier, there hadn’t been much call to use the port except for the odd visiting merchant, such as Fang. 

But he wasn’t the only one there to see Orion away, as a whole crowd of people appeared to watch the ship sail off into the sky. He had his men keep them back to a safe distance, but it made him smile to see them greet a foreign vessel with wonder and celebration, rather than with fear and distrust.

“Next time they visit, we could have a parade,” Shinkai said.

“Fine idea, if we can get stick-in-the-mud Orion to participate.”

Shinkai laughed. “Ah, here they come.”

Orion and Erin both seemed surprised at the sight of streamers and flags to see them off. Their eyes widened and Erin grinned. 

“Everyone loved your show,” Sardinia said, as they approached. “Many people came to watch your ship make way.”

“Well I hope they remember it well,” Orion grumbled, “Because I am never doing anything like that again.”

Sardinia sighed. “A tragic loss to the acting world, I’m sure.”

“Are you saying I’m bad at acting?”

Sardinia ignored Orion, and looked instead at Erin. He was holding a bouquet of red roses, and waving excitedly to the crowd. “Ah.” He smiled. “Those do suit you well, Erin. I wonder what romantic gentleman could have given them to you.”

Erin laughed. “Certainly not my King, right?”

“But it _was_ me,” he groaned. “Please, let’s be off. I can barely tolerate one of you.”

Sardinia was sad to see them go. Orion held his hand out for a shake. Sardinia took it and held it tenderly. “Please visit me again soon.”

Orion took his hand back, blushing. “Yeah, well it’s a nice place to visit.”

Erin set aside formalities and gave Sardinia a hug. “Thanks for everything!”

He laughed softly and pat the boy’s back.

“It’s my pleasure.”

***

The sparkling blue star of Sirena grew smaller in the distance as Orion and Erin stood on the observation deck of Orion’s ship.

Erin felt the weight Orion’s hand on his shoulder. He smiled to himself.

In a matter of hours, they’d see the grey spires of Lama.

“Don’t you want to put in a pool at the castle?” He asked, nudging Orion in the side.

Orion groaned so deeply Erin could feel the vibration of the sound in his chest. “I have a mind to pass a law banning all bodies of water deeper than the knee.”

He laughed. “What about a nice private bath like Sardinia’s?”

Orion pulled him in closer. “Permissible.”

The journey back to Lama was only a few hours long in Orion’s state-of-the-art ship. As soon as they returned, they’d both be piled with work for days, or weeks even. That meant this might be their last moment along for quite a while.

Orion must have been sharing the same though. He turned his head down just as Erin looked up to kiss him.


	10. Bonus 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I lied, there’s more lol enjoy

Erin had to admit even to himself that he liked it when Orion held him. It made him embarrassed to think about it. He was the one who was supposed to protect his king, after all. But when Orion had his arms around him, he couldn’t resist nuzzling into the perfectly Erin-shaped space under his chin and between his shoulders.

But that time, Orion did something weird. Erin felt Orion’s arms raise and his hand smooth against either side of his head. He was happy then, since he was as much a shameless glutton for pets and hair brushing as he was for being held.

Orion’s fingers circled around his head and Orion began to scrutinize their position.

“What the hell are you doing?” Erin asked, as Orion pushed his bangs up and examined his forehead.

“Looking at your head.”

He groaned. “Why?”

“No reason.”

“You’re not even going to attempt to explain this?”

“I couldn’t think of a convincing story, so I figured it would be better if I didn’t say anything and left you confused.”

As he said it, his hands fell to Erin’s neck and began to size him up there in the same manner. Erin was so dumbfounded as to allow this to happen, but when Orion went for his wrist, he was done.

He snapped his hand away and removed himself from Orion’s grasp. “Whatever you’re doing, it’s taken me out of the mood.”

Orion sighed as he watched Erin walk to the door and put his jacket back on. “I’ll explain it tonight.”

“Aren’t you bold, assuming I’ll want to sleep in your bed after that.”

Orion gave him a mug grin. “And wear something pretty.”

Erin scowled. “You’re really pushing it.”

***

It wasn’t like Erin couldn’t find out.

He waited out of sight until Orion left his room, which didn’t take much time at all. He had a satchel with him like he was headed into town. 

Erin felt anger swell up inside him. Orion knew better than to go to the city alone. He’d told him so many times.

And yet that’s what Orion did. Erin followed him out of the castle and down the hill, into the town.

He wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Orion enter a jewelry shop. It was well known that Erin liked jewelry. He wore earrings and blue stone on a chain across his lapels every day. He was also fond of the bracelet Sardinia had given him.

Orion just couldn’t stand it if Erin wasn’t wearing something of his, huh? And for that, he put himself in danger—a small degree, but still. This idiot made him so angry sometimes.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t make out what Orion was telling the shop owner after he entered. He didn’t see Orion pick up anything, either. He was only there to see to some sort of business about whatever jewelry he was buying.

Erin slapped his own face. His measurements. Orion had been feeling around trying to assuage the inches round his neck and his wrist for measurements. 

Having dropped off that information, Orion left the shop again. He looked around himself suspiciously before stepping into the street.

_If you’re trying to spot me, good luck,_ Erin thought. 

He had met Orion by trying to kill him, and sometimes he felt like he could almost do it again.

***

That night he waited for Orion in his room—their room, as it had become.

Orion entered the room late that night holding a lacquered box.

He frowned when he saw Erin sitting at the edge of his bed in his usual clothes, without having taken his jacket or his shoes off. “I thought I told you to wear something pretty.”

Erin stood up and scowled at him, arms crossed over his chest, tapping his fingers impatiently. “Do you think I’m some kind of idiot? That I wouldn’t notice you leave the castle without any escort?”

“I knew you’d follow me, that’s why I didn’t bother to ask anyone.”

Erin narrowed his eyes, trying to discern if that was stupid and reckless, or actually quite smart of him. “Next time you want to buy me jewelry, just take me along with you. I don’t trust your eye anyway.”

“I wasn’t technically buying any,” he said, despite the box in his hands. He set in on his desk. Then he pulled the chair out and turned it around. “Would you sit down? If looks could kill, you wouldn’t need your knives to end me.”

Erin was bristling, his aggravation even more acute now that it seemed Orion had been stringing him along. But if Orion had somehow managed to trick him, he was more interested in figuring out how.

He sat.

“Did you ever see the queen’s crown?”

Erin looked up at the question. “Don’t tell me you got me a tiara—“

“Of course not. I took the Queen’s crown to the jewelry maker and had it smelted, the stones taken out.”

“Moron!” He started to get up, but Orion held a hand on his shoulder and he sunk back into the chair. “That belonged to your mother, you dolt. Why would you do a thing like that?”

Orion smiled, briefly, and with eyes seeming distant for a moment. “I wanted you to have it, Erin.”

“Me?” Erin let the word fall out of his wide open mouth.

That made Orion laugh. “I thought I made my intentions clear. You even teased me for it before I realized what I was saying.”

“Because the things you say are often times ridiculous.”

Orion lifted the lid of the box. “I doubted I could get you to prance around here in a tiara, so I had them recast it into a new design.”

Inside the box there was a gold circlet, simple and elegant in its form, with only one stone embedded at the center, the same color as the one Orion wore on his neck.

He lifted it from the box and slid it onto Erin’s head. Erin shivered at the touch as Orion combed his fingers through his hair, tucking the circlet under his bangs.

“Is it comfortable?” He asked. His face was close, Erin could feel his breath. “It looks perfect, but how does it feel?”

It fit snugly, just over his brow. He looked at himself in the mirror that sat on Orion’s desk, and touched the metal. The stone was hidden behind his hair, only known to him unless he wanted to show it off.

“You took my measurements this well just by feeling my head?” He laughed. “So when you felt my neck and my arms were those diversions?”

Orion turned his head and blushed. That wasn’t all. Erin sighed, waiting for the rest.

“Not entirely, I mean... there were a lot of jewels left, so...”

Erin looked inside the box. Beside the gap where the crown had been, there was a pile of jewelry, bracelets and bangles, chokers, earrings, all using the royal stones. “You just can’t help showing off, can you?”

Orion knelt and took Erin’s hand. “You don’t have to wear them,” he said, and kissed Erin’s fingers. “Although, I would like it if you wore them just for me, once in a while.”


End file.
